The French government declared its troops, carried by helicopters, managed to seize six of the Somali pirates, after the operation of releasing 30 hostages was completed successfully.

The French troops also said they recovered several sacks of money from the pirates, which probably were part of the ransom paid to them by the ship’s owners.

Although some witnesses said the helicopters fired rockets at the pirates, killing some civilians, the French troops declared they had only targeted the vehicle’s engine, and they had not hurt anyone.

The Somali pirates captured the ship and its 30 crew members on April 4 in the Gulf of Aden while returning from a seven-night cruise. The yacht named Le Ponand, can take up to 64 passengers and has four decks, two restaurants and also indoor and outdoor luxury lounges.

Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, the chief of staff of France's armed forces declared that the hostages had been released following negotiations with the ship’s owner. He insisted no public money was paid as ransom.

“Naturally, absolutely no public money was paid in this affair,” Georgelin said, according to the Associated Press. "Check with the ship owner,” he added. “In capturing the pirates, we also recovered some interesting bags ... We recovered part of the ransom that was probably paid.”

The rescue operation was approved by the Somali government and all the ex-hostages are expected to go home as soon as possible, the French government assured. All 30 persons were in good condition, officials said.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy thanked the French army, as well as other agencies that helped completing quickly the rescue operation.

The phenomenon of piracy is frequently encountered off Somalia’s coasts, with more than two dozen ships hi-jacked last year.