The frigate USS Nicholas has captured five pirates, along with their mother ship, U.S. naval forces announced on Thursday. Additionally, it was reported that the skiff the pirates were using was sunk. The USS Nicholas is part of the U.S. Navy's African Command.

A U.S. Navy warship fired back at suspected Somali pirates Thursday, sinking their skiff, capturing five of them and then commandeering a larger mothership off the coast of East Africa, the AP reported.

The USS Nicholas was fired on in what appeared to be an attack on the American guided missile frigate for the sake of ransom, officials said. The U.S. Africa command said the captured pirates would remain in custody on board the ship in the Indian Ocean for the time being.

The attack came just short of a year since pirates took Capt. Richard Phillips hostage after an assault on the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama. He was rescued when Navy SEAL snipers shot and killed three pirates holding Phillips in a lifeboat.