( CNN ) -- The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution on Tuesday aimed at combating piracy along the Horn of Africa by allowing military forces to chase pirates onto land in cases of `` hot pursuit . '' French troops on the lookout for pirates in the Gulf of Aden on November 25 . Military forces from various countries , including the United States , are patrolling pirate-infested waters off Somalia , where attacks have surged this year . Nearly 100 vessels have come under fire , according to the International Maritime Bureau , and almost 40 vessels have been hijacked . The Security Council resolution , which passed unanimously , expands upon existing counter-piracy tools , including a stipulation that would allow for national and regional military forces to chase pirates onto land -- specifically into Somalia where many of the pirates are based . Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was at the U.N. on Tuesday for a discussion of the piracy problem and the Security Council vote . `` I would n't be here seeking authorization to go ashore if the U.S. government -- perhaps most importantly the president of the United States -- were not behind this resolution , '' Rice said after the vote . Asked if she thought U.S. troops would soon be on land chasing pirates , Rice would not speculate . `` The United States is part of an international effort , '' she said . `` We do have naval forces that have been involved in this effort . What this ( resolution ) does is to authorize that the boundary of the maritime can not become a safe haven boundary for pirates . What we do -- or do not do -- in issues like hot pursuit , we 'll have to see ... case by case . '' Earlier , in remarks to the Security Council , Rice described the growing problem of piracy off the coast of Somalia as `` a symptom . '' `` It 's a symptom of the instability , the poverty , the lawlessness that have plagued Somalia for the past two decades , '' she said , adding that the Bush administration `` does believe that the time has come for the United Nations to consider and authorize a peacekeeping operation . '' Asked about reports that two more ships were attacked by pirates this week , Rice said those show `` the increasing problem that this is . The pirates are a threat to commerce , they are a threat to security and perhaps most importantly they are a threat to the principle of freedom of navigation on the seas . '' With increased patrols in the area by several countries , reports of exchanges of fire have become more frequent . In one of the most recent piracy attacks , Indian officials said Saturday they had captured 23 people suspected of trying to take over a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden . In addition to the 12 Somali and 11 Yemeni suspects , Indian navy officials also seized two small boats and `` a substantial cache of arms and equipment , '' the Indian military said in a statement .
Military forces from various countries are patrolling pirate-infested waters off Somalia . Nearly 100 vessels have come under fire in the area , with almost 40 being hijacked . The resolution allows national , regional military forces to chase pirates into Somalia . Comment: