Sources: U.S. searched Iranian ship

[unhappycamper]

Sources: U.S. searched Iranian ship
By Pauline Jelinek - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Jan 22, 2009 15:31:16 EST

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military intercepted and searched an Iranian-owned ship that officials feared was carrying arms to the militant group Hamas, but two officials said it was unclear Thursday whether those suspicions were founded.

The Cypriot-flagged commercial vessel was tracked by a U.S. Navy ship in the Red Sea over the weekend, one official said. It was boarded and searched with the consent of the vessel’s crew on Monday and Tuesday, said another.

They both spoke on condition of anonymity because details were still sketchy and they were not authorized to speak about it on the record.

One official said the two-day search turned up ammunition that included artillery shells, and because Hamas is not known to use artillery, officials are now uncertain who the intended recipient was.

“There’s just a lot of things we don’t know yet, and it will be a couple of days before we do,” he said.


Rest of article at: http://navytimes.com/news/2009/01/ap_iran_weapons_ship_012209w/%2e