He confirmed that no vessel with armed guards had been taken over by pirates, and said in several cases guards had fired shots at pirates.

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Armed commandos boarded the target vessel simultaneously from a boat and helicopter in a meticulously timed exercise.

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The following day, an armed group of Navy personnel boarded the vessel and found artillery shells, according to two defense officials.

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On Sunday, officials from the bureau, which monitors pirate attacks, said that heavily armed pirates had kidnapped four people after attacking an Italian supply vessel off the coast of Nigeria.

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Staff Sgt LORENTO SPITERI, Armed Forces of Malta: Once we do make visual contact with the vessel we'll ID the number of personnel on board, and we'll usually immediately commence a search for about 25 to 40 square miles.

BBC: Last Updated: Wednesday, 16 January 2008, 12:19 GMT