Somali pirates holding a hijacked ship off the coast of Somalia fired at a US Navy helicopter, the US Navy said Thursday.

The US Naval Forces Central Command said in a statement that a group of pirates aboard the M/V Win Far, a vessel hijacked on April 6, fired "a large caliber weapon" at a US SH-60B helicopter, which was conducting a surveillance flight over the ship.

No one was injured and the helicopter, which is based on the USS Chancellorsville, was not hit, according to the statement.

Piracy off Somalia's coast and the Gulf of Aden has become an urgent global concern recently. Many countries have joined an international naval effort to deal with the challenges in the region.

(Xinhua News Agency August 28, 2009)