Al-Shabaab weapons seized in Somalia

QANDALA, Somalia, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Authorities in Somalia have seized a shipment of arms destined for suspected Islamist militants in the country's northeast, officials said.

The shipment, which consisted of land mines and artillery, was seized from a boat from Yemen, Abdisamad Gallan, a regional governor, told the BBC.

Authorities were alerted to the shipment by a tip-off from residents in Qandala, a coastal town in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland

The boat's crew fled before being questioned, Gallan said.

The weapons were thought to be heading to al-Shabaab, which said earlier this week that it wants to strengthen its presence in Puntland.