CAIRO: Two Egyptian fishing boat crews escaped from Somali pirate custody on Friday after overpowering the pirates and killing two of them, local reports indicated. The Egyptians had been held hostage since April after their ships came under attack in the dangerous Gulf of Aden. Somali piracy has become a major force in the area, garnering tens of millions of dollars in ransoms after taking ships hostage. On Wednesday, the pirates had rejected a $200,000 ransom being offered for the Egyptians release. The pirates said they wanted $800,000. The escape comes less than a day after families of those taken hostage by the pirates in Egypt had sold their household belongings in an attempt to garner the amount required to pay for their loved ones release. In the end, they didn't need to sell their stuff. According to local Egyptian media, the Egyptian fishermen were not in good health and here, there were worries that if the men were not released soon, their health would be a major factor in whether they lived or died. Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of an east African maritime group, said the fishermen and their ships were now en route to Egypt with their pirate captives. Somalia has been void of a central government since 1991, which is allowing pirates to operate in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. It is also threatening the Suez Canal as shipping operators turn to other routes for transporting their goods. Earlier in June the European Union, which co-operates with Nato in the region, agreed to extend its anti-piracy operation there until the end of 2010. Two dozen ships from European Union nations, including Britain, France, Germany and Italy, patrol an area of about two million square miles. **reporting by Mohamed Abdel Salam BM
