Ship's Cargo Reportedly Is Air Defense System

A ship bound for Syria from North Korea and detained in Cyprus on an Interpol alert for suspected arms smuggling was carrying an air defense system, Cypriot authorities said.

The shipment was billed as weather-observation equipment on the freight manifest of the Panamanian-flagged Grigorio 1.

The ship was carrying 18 truck-mounted mobile radar systems and three command vehicles. "The radars on the 18 trucks appear to be part of an air defense system," a police spokeswoman said.