(Reuters) - Somali pirates released a hijacked ship, MV Abdullah, early on Sunday after a $5 million ransom was paid, according to two pirates.

       "The money was brought to us two nights ago as usual... we checked whether the money was fake or not. Then we divided the money into groups and left, avoiding the government forces," Abdirashiid Yusuf, one of the pirates, told Reuters.

       The MV Abdullah, a Bangladesh-flagged bulk carrier - a type of merchant ship used to transport large amounts of cargo - was hijacked in March as it was heading from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates.

       The hijacking happened about 600 nautical miles east of Somalia's capital Mogadishu.

       (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema and Maria Ponnezhath; Editing by Alex Richardson)