by another warship, the Halyburton, which carries two helicopters.

The pirates also claim to be sending reinforcements, hijacked ships with their captured crews as human shields.

"The pirates have summoned assistance -- skiffs and motherships are heading towards the area from the coast," a Nairobi-based diplomat told the Associated Press. "We knew they were gathering yesterday."

A Somali pirate identified as Mohamed Samaw in the pirate stronghold in central Eyl, told the AP that among the ships heading to their colleagues' rescue was a Taiwanese fishing vessel seized Monday and the German cargo ship Hansa Stavanger, seized earlier this month.

"They had asked us for reinforcement and we have already sent a good number of well-equipped colleagues, who were holding a German cargo ship," said another pirate.

"We are not intending to harm the captain, so that we hope our colleagues would not be harmed as long as they hold him," Badow said.