2 million dollars paid to free hostages off Somalia: source

PARIS - The owner of a French luxury sailing boat paid some two million dollars (1.3 million euros) for the release of 30 crew members taken hostage off Somalia, a source close to the negotiations said Friday.

French special forces handled the negotiations between the shipowner and the pirates who had taken the crew hostage, the source said.

A portion of the ransom was later recovered when the French military detained six of the pirates, the source said, without providing an amount.

bur/sm/mjs/shn

04/11/2008 18:14 GMT