Sana'a, Yemen  - Yemeni authorities are investigating the killing of a local fisherman during an anti-piracy operation by a Russian navy ship in the Gulf of Aden, the interior ministry said on Thursday.

The ministry said in a statement that a fisherman was killed and two others injured as a Russian frigate attacked suspected Somali pirates near the southern Yemeni port city of Aden Wednesday.

It said the Somali pirates attempted to hijack a Dutch vessel and "clashed" with the Yemeni fishermen, who were sailing nearby on two fishing boats.

The statement said the Russian frigate "forced the Somali pirates to flee." It gave no further details on the operation.

The Aden-based al-Ayyam daily, however, quoted one of the fishermen as saying that they came under fire from a helicopter sent by the Russian frigate, not the pirates.

Ameen Sulaiman Salim, 22, told the paper that the helicopter opened fire on the fishing boats nearly 22 miles from the town of al- Buraiqa, near Aden.

"We kept waving to them and appealed to them to stop shooting, but they continued," Salim said.

Piracy in the Gulf of Aden has surged in recent months as Somalia descends further into chaos and the ineffectual central government continues to squabble rather than govern.

In 2008, pirates seized more than 200 ships, demanding millions of dollars in ransom.

On Monday, Yemen received four suspected Somali pirates captured by a navy ship operating off the Horn of Africa as part of and international task force in the area.

Foreign navies have sent over a dozen warships to the area seeking to stop piracy in the region, which has driven up shipping costs and forced some ships to re-route around Africa rather than passing through the Suez Canal. (dpa)