Madrid  - Spain has sent an air force reconnaissance plane to the Horn of Africa, where 26 Spanish and African fishermen have been held by Somali pirates for five days, the government said Thursday.

The plane, which has landed in neighbouring Djibouti, was to back up the Spanish warship Mendez Nunez, which was due to arrive in the area on Thursday, according to press reports.

The preparations for a military rescue operation were mainly aimed at pressuring the pirates to accede to a negotiated solution, according to government sources.

The daily El Pais said Spain had also sent three other air force planes, one of which brought the Spanish ambassador to Kenya to the Somali capital Mogadishu for a meeting with the local authorities on Wednesday.

The other two were a cargo plane based in Djibouti and an aircraft for repatriating the 13 Spaniards among the fishermen if they are released.

Authorities in Mogadishu have given their support to attempts by ambassador Nicolas Martin Cinto to reach an agreement with the kidnappers, who were expected to seek a ransom.

Several agents of the Spanish secret service CNI have travelled to Somalia, and special operations army units were on alert in Spain.

The fishing vessel Playa de Bakio was seized in international waters on Sunday. It was then taken to the Somali coast off Hobbio.

The European Union general and external affairs council will discuss piracy in the Indian Ocean at Spain's initiative on April 29, the government said. (dpa)