French naval forces patrolling the north of the Indian Ocean have seized a shipment of weapons they say was heading towards Somalia.
The weapons are said to include hundreds of assault rifles, machine guns and anti-tank weapons.
A French surveillance helicopter which is part of the multinational force that patrols the Indian Ocean spotted the ship.
The French forces seized the weapons under a UN embargo to prevent arms from reaching the Somalia-based Islamist terror group al-Shabaab.
A few weeks ago, the Australian navy also intercepted a cache of weapons, also said to have been heading to Somalia.
The naval coalition has hailed this discovery as a success although it has not revealed any information about those transporting the weapons.
African Union forces in Somalia have lately been able to recapture al-Shabaab bases in the southern and central parts of the country.
