Pictures: Russia sends massive cargo ship with military gear to Syria

Russia is in the process of sending a massive cargo ship laden with military equipment to Syria; it is the third Russian weapons-carrying sealifter to be sent to the country in just over two weeks.
The vessel in question, the Russian government-owned Sparta II, was spotted by ship-trackers transiting the Bosporus Strait from the Black Sea towards the eastern Mediterranean.
The ship’s destination, a matter of public information, is stated as the port city of Tartus in Syria – the usual arrival point for Russian sealift operations to the Levantine country. It departed from Novorossiysk in Russia.
Images of the Sparta II as it crossed the Bosporus Strait were provided on Twitter by Yörük Işık (@YorukIsik).

The military equipment – whatever it specifically is – comes amid major Syrian Army operations against militant groups in Syria’s northwest.