“The focused, precise and proportionate action was conducted from the air and all forces returned safely to EU warships on completion. Whilst assessment is on-going, surveillance of the area during the action indicates that no Somalis were injured ashore as a result of EU action,” accoridng to EU naval force statement.

Speaking about the operation, the Operation Commander of the EU Naval Force, Rear Admiral Duncan Potts said “We believe this action by the EU Naval Force will further increase the pressure on, and disrupt pirates’ efforts to get out to sea to attack merchant shipping and dhows.”

The strike on what the EU force reassured was “on known pirate supplies” came after , sea bandits seized a Greek-owned tanker carrying close to a million barrels of crude oil on Thursday, while it was sailing in the Arabian sea,  Although the hijack success rate for Somali pirates has dropped sharply in recent months.

The EU’s Operation Atalanta has deployed between five and 10 warships off the Somali coast since 2008 to escort humanitarian aid shipments and thwart pirate raids on commercial vessels using vital shipping lanes, accoridng to Al Arabiya.

Somalia-based pirates have made millions of dollars in ransoms in what has become an organized, international criminal enterprise, experts say.

The reach of Somali pirates is vast; they have attacked merchant ships up to 1,750 miles off the Somali coast.