Hostages Freed from Somali Pirates as EU Mulls Military Option
September 16, 2008![A German naval ship is seen patrolling the Gulf of Aden in Somalia](https://static.dw.com/image/3283273_800.webp)
One pirate was killed and six others captured in the military operation, which was ordered by Sarkozy late Monday, according to the announcement issued on Tuesday, Sept. 16.
Jean-Yves and Bernadette Delanne, originally from Polynesia, were abducted on Sept. 2 in the Gulf of Aden as they were convoying a sailboat from Australia to France.
For their liberation, the pirates had demanded a ransom and the release of pirates captured in an earlier military operation to liberate hostages abducted in April.
After the couple's kidnapping and the recent attack by Somali pirates on a French tuna boat, the European Union decided on Monday to consider launching a naval operation in Somalia to protect European vessels.
EU ministers meeting in Brussels said they had approved "a strategic military option for a possible European Union naval operation."