Helicopter-borne French troops have swooped in on Somali pirates after they released 30 hostages from a yacht, seizing six of the pirates and recovering sacks of money _ apparently ransom paid by the yacht's owners to win the captives' release. The pirates had boarded the 88-meter (288-foot) French luxury yacht Ponant a week ago, capturing its crew _ 22 of whom were French_ off the coast of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden. Pirates seized more than two dozen boats off the Somali coast last year, mostly in hopesof securing ransoms. Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, the chief of staff of France's armed forces, said the pirates released the hostages Friday after negotiations with the ship owner.