Somali pirates threaten to kill Spanish hostages

Somali pirates have threatened to kill three crew members taken hostage from a Spanish fishing vessel if two suspected pirates being held in Spain are not freed, the captain of the vessel said on Friday.

"They have taken three of our crew and have given a deadline of two days," captain Ricardo Blach told Spanish television by phone from the tuna boat Alakrana, which was seized on Oct. 2.

"If in two days there are no signs that those two Somalis are being sent back here, they are going to kill them (the three crew members) and immediately take another three hostages. This is a lottery," Blach said.