(Adds detail, background) LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Pirates attacked a Thai-flagged fishing boat off the east African coast on Thursday and are heading for Somalia, the European Union's naval force in the region said. Pirates on two skiffs boarded the ship about 200 nautical miles north of the Seychelles and 650 miles off the Somali coast. An EU naval force plane spotted the fishing boat and confirmed that the pirates were on board. "Skiffs used by pirates have been sighted on board the fishing vessel," the force said in a statement. (We) will continue to monitor the vessel that now appears to be heading towards the Somali coast." The hijacking of the Thai boat takes the number of ships being held by pirates on the Somali coastline to eight, the EU force added. Pirates have plagued busy shipping lanes off the coast of Somalia for several years. Foreign warships from 16 nations are in the area to try and prevent hijacks, but the sea gangs now hunt for ships far into the Indian Ocean. Pirates captured two Britons on a sailing yacht near the Seychelles archipelago on Friday and demanded a ransom for their safe release. (Reporting by Peter Griffiths; Editing by Giles Elgood)
Mogadishu residents draw water from a well following water shortages in the Somali capital, October 27, 2009. Fighting in Somalia has killed 19,000 civilians since the start of 2007 and driven ...
