Navy stops Iranian-owned ship on arms fears
Dave Shirlaw
Navy stops Iranian-owned ship on arms fears
By Pauline Jelinek - The
Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Jan 22, 2009 13:12:35 EST
WASHINGTON — Defense officials say the military intercepted and searched an Iranian-owned ship that officials feared was carrying arms to Hamas. It’s unclear whether those suspicions were founded.
Two defense officials say the Cypriot-flagged commercial vessel was tracked by a U.S. Navy ship in the Red Sea over the weekend. One official says it was boarded with the consent of the vessel’s crew Monday and Tuesday.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record.
The search turned up ammunition that included artillery shells. But one official said that since Hamas is not known to use artillery, officials are now uncertain who the intended recipient was. They’re asking Egypt to do another search when the ship arrives in port.
=================================================
Join the new Marine-L list