Spain is planning to hand over to Kenya or the Seychelles six suspected pirates it captured off the coast of Somalia, Spanish Defence Minister Carme Chacon said Wednesday.
The pirates were believed to have attacked a Panamanian vessel on Tuesday, only to be repelled by gunfire from private guards onboard the ship, DPA reported.
A Spanish frigate forming part of the European Union's anti-piracy Operation Atalanta then intercepted several vessels transporting the suspected pirates, detaining six people.
One of the vessels carried the body of one of the pirates who was believed to have been killed by the guards of the Panamanian vessel.
The Operation Atalanta was negotiating with the Somali authorities about the handover of the body, as well as with Kenya and the Seychelles, which have agreed with the EU to try suspected pirates, Chacon said.