Negotiations got  underway to release 28 Yemeni fishermen who were held by Somali pirates off Socotra island in the Arab Sea four months ago, informed sources said.

The pirates held 33 Yemeni fishermen along with three boats, but they used one of the boats together with five of the fishermen on the  boat and took the others away to continue piracy acts, the sources said.

The pirates have been seizing the fishermen and using them as human shields while using the boats for piracy acts.

Authorities informed international forces in the Indian ocean about the incident as the forces then launched a hunt for the pirates. Two pirates were killed in clashes with the international forces.

However, the fate of the fishermen is still unclear.

Some of the British forces located in the ocean were pursuing the pirates, who were seizing the five fishermen, but the pirates escaped and the fate of the fishermen has not been known yet.