Israel nabs Iranian weapons ship

JERUSALEM, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Israeli naval commandos intercepted an Iranian arms cargo ship flying an Antigua flag some 100 nautical miles off the Israeli coast, the army said Wednesday.

Defense officials said they suspect the Iranian-made arms found aboard the Francop near Cyprus were headed for Syria and eventual transfer to Hezbollah and possibly other terror organizations, Maariv said.

Special Israeli forces on routine patrol boarded the ship before dawn Wednesday and discovered the arms and ammunition. The vessel was towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod for further examination, the army said.

The Hebrew language newspaper said 122 mm. Katyusha rockets, grenades, assault rifles and mortar shells were found aboard the ship.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak praised the catch and the elite naval forces involved.

"This is another success in the endless struggle against attempts to smuggle weapons and military equipment whose goal is to strengthen terrorist elements who threaten Israel's security," the defense minister was quoted as saying in local Israeli media reports.

The newspaper said special forces uncovered the weapons stashed in the ship's hold. The ship documents described the cargo as being for "civilian use."

Ynetnews.com said the Israeli military had monitored the ship for several days before receiving approval for the raid.

This is not the first time Israeli military forces have nabbed ships smuggling weapons, the paper noted. In 2002 special naval forces backed by air support uncovered a huge weapons haul on the Karine A, which carried some 50 tons of military equipment including advanced rockets, explosives and anti-tank missiles. Last April Egyptian media reported Israeli army forces or American forces sank an Iranian weapons ship off the Sudanese coast, the paper said.