The South Korean military has successfully carried out a rescue operation of a South Korean chemical freighter that was hijacked last weekend by Somali pirates.

The South Korean government says that all 21 crew members of the “Samho Jewelry” were rescued during the operation on Friday that was led by South Korea's Cheonghae Unit.

Five of the 13 pirates were captured by the unit and the other eight were killed during the operation. Three members of the South Korean military were injured during the operation.

The military said that the South Korean captain of the Samho Jewelry suffered a gunshot wound during the operation, but that his condition is not life-threatening.

The 21 crew members of the hijacked ship included eight South Koreans, two Indonesians and eleven people from Myanmar.

The freighter was carrying chemicals from the United Arab Emirates to Sri Lanka when it was hijacked on January 15th.