(CNN) -- The French Navy captured 11 suspected pirates off the coast of Kenya Wednesday, the French Ministry of Defense announced.

The French frigate Nivose, pictured last year patrolling the Gulf of Aden.

The Navy tracked the pirates overnight after they attacked a ship called the Safmarine Asia. The French launched a helicopter from the frigate Nivose to head off the attack Tuesday night, then seized the suspected pirates Wednesday morning, the statement said.

Both the European Union and the United States have been patrolling the region since an upsurge in piracy off the coast of Somalia last year.

U.S. snipers killed three pirates holding a U.S. ship captain hostage Sunday. The captain, Richard Phillips, was held in a lifeboat for days after his ship, the Maersk Alabama, was seized last week

But pirates in Somalia vowed revenge, saying that an attack on another ship, the Liberty Sun, was a response to the killing of Phillips' captors.

"It was a revenge," Hassan Mohamud told a Somali journalist. "The U.S. ship escaped by a matter of chance."
Who tracked the pirates? What did the ministry say? What was launched from the frigate? What ship did they attack? When did the helicopter launch? What launched on Tuesday night? What was the attacked ship called? Who tracked the pirates overnight? Where were they captured?
French Navy The a helicopter the Safmarine Asia. Tuesday night, a helicopter from the frigate Nivose to head off the attack the Safmarine Asia. French Navy off the coast of Kenya
question: Who tracked the pirates?, answer: French Navy | question: What did the ministry say?, answer: The | question: What was launched from the frigate?, answer: a helicopter | question: What ship did they attack?, answer: the Safmarine Asia. | question: When did the helicopter launch?, answer: Tuesday night, | question: What launched on Tuesday night?, answer: a helicopter from the frigate Nivose to head off the attack | question: What was the attacked ship called?, answer: the Safmarine Asia. | question: Who tracked the pirates overnight?, answer: French Navy | question: Where were they captured?, answer: off the coast of Kenya