BEIJING — China said Somali pirates have hijacked a Chinese-flagged commercial ship off the coast of Yemen.

The state-run Xinhua News Agency on Sunday cited a Chinese military attaché in Yemen as confirming the attack.

The attaché did not say how many people were on the Hong Kong-registered Tien Hau ship when it was attacked Saturday but said the pirates were moving the ship toward the Somali coast.

The China Marine Rescue Center said it received a report Saturday of a Hong Kong-registered ship with 22 aboard being chased by suspected pirates off the Yemen coast but escaping. It wasn't clear if that ship was the Tien Hau.

Piracy off Somalia has flourished since the African nation's government collapsed in 1991. (AP)