Pirates take four hostages

MOGADISHU, Somalia, June 24 (UPI) -- Pirates took four hostages after their yacht ran out of fuel off northern Somalia in the Gulf of Aden in the Red Sea, an official said.

The pirates took their hostages -- a man, woman child and the yacht's pilot -- to a hillside location near the fishing town of Las Qoray, CNN reported.

Ahmed Yusuf Yasin, vice president of the self-declared Somaliland, said soldiers and residents were searching for the pirates to try to free the hostages, believed to be French or German.

Las Qoray is in a territory claimed by both Somalia and Puntland, a self-declared autonomous state, CNN said. The two sides fought over the disputed area earlier in 2008.

The U.N. Security Council in early June expanded nations' powers to chase pirates into the waters off Somalia to combat a new round of sea hijackings near the Horn of Africa. The Gulf of Aden has been the site of more than 24 pirate attacks since the beginning of 2008, the International Maritime Bureau said.