The U. S. Navy has announced that a Navy cruiser on an anti-narcotics patrol off Yemen boarded and freed a Yemeni dhow that had been seized by pirates.

Military officials said in a news release that the five Yemeni crew members were rescued during the May 26 operation in the Arabian Sea.

It has been reported that the USS San Jacinto, a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, was on routine patrol 68 miles southeast of Ras Fartak when it spotted the dhow, Al Jhawat. The San Jacinto sent a boarding team for an inspection.

The team, after the Al Jhawat's crew was mustered, found one man hiding under a blanket and a stash of four AK-47 assault rifles and four rocket-propelled grenades.

The vessel had been seized a day earlier and identified the pirates, who had been attempting to use the crew as camouflage, the captain of the dhow said. Eight of the 13 men on board were identified as pirates.

Until Yemeni authorities arrived, the U. S. team remained on board. (With Inputs from Agencies)