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Madrid: The Spanish military aircraft which will patrol the waters off the coast of Somalia to protect ships from pirates left on Saturday from the Moron air base in Seville, the Ministry of Defence said on Saturday.
The P-3 orion plane was accompanied by a Boeing 727 and a Hercules helicopter, which carried 90 personnel, including crew, the ministry said in a news release.
The P-3 Orion will collect information on the movements of pirates to relay to a European Union task force formed on Monday to work against piracy off the Horn of Africa.
The patrol operation will be for an initial three months, which could be extended depending on the decisions taken on the international stage.
The move comes after French commandos on Tuesday freed two French tourists held for ransom on their yacht off the African country's coast.
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