Nearly forty Egyptian crew members on board two hijacked fishing boats killed two of the pirates, wound another before managing to break free themselves and their ships from pirates, a pirate commander said on Friday, Xinhua reported.
The crews and the two fishing ships had been held hostage for nearly four months off the northern coast of war-torn Somalia.
"Our colleagues were attacked by the crews of two ships with everything they could set hand on including machetes, and metal bars," a commander of another pirate group, in northeastern autonomous region of Puntland, told Xinhua.
The pirate, who asked not to be named, said two of the pirates were killed while a wounded one jumped overboard and was found on the shore. He added several pirates are thought to be "taken hostage" by the crews who now reportedly sailed towards a Yemeni port.
The two Egyptian fishing ships were abducted by Somali pirates last May. The pirates have since been demanding ransom for the release of the ships and their crew.
Reports have indicated that the pirates refused to accept nearly 200,000 U.S. dollars offered by local businessmen on Wednesday for the release of the hostages and their ships.
Incidence of piracy activities have decreased since the deployment of foreign naval forces after the endorsing of the UN Security Council late year. A few abducted vessels still remain in pirates' hands as many former pirates have denounced the activity and announced their reforming.
Meanwhile, security forces in Puntland said they arrested six men suspected of preparing to carry out piracy activity off Bossaso, the commercial capital of the northeastern autonomous region.
Mohamed Said Janaqaf, deputy police commander of Puntland, said after a brief exchange of fire, the local police managed to capture a pirate mother ship, a number of speed boats, ladders for mounting hijacked ships and weapons and ammunitions.
The Somali government, beset by deadly insurgency, has recently formed a small naval force of 500 soldiers who are under going training in the restive capital, Mogadishu.