The Indian Navy has thwarted a pirate attack on an Iranian fishing vessel, freeing all 17 crew who had been taken hostage, the navy said late on Thursday. A group of seven pirates had boarded the vessel, which was sailing about 240 km (150 miles) east of the Somali coast, and took the crew hostage, an Indian Navy spokesman said, adding that the navy's efforts ensured "the successful release of all 17 crew members along with the boat". The incident came just hours after the navy said its warship INS Sumitra had rescued a Marshall Islands-flagged vessel and its 17-member Sri Lankan crew from pirates in the Gulf of Aden.