ISRAEL AND SYRIA BATTLE THIRD DAY IN THE GOLAN AREA (original) (raw)
ISRAEL AND SYRIA BATTLE THIRD DAY IN THE GOLAN AREA
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- June 27, 1970
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JERUSALEM, Saturday, June 27—Israeli and Syrian forces fought with tanks, artillery and jets yesterday in the Golan area as the biggest Middle Eastern, battle since 1967 went into its third day.
The Israelis said they had shot down four Syrian jet fighters and had lost one plane.
A spokesman reported Israeli casualties as 4 killed and 29 wounded, 4 seriously. Spokes men also asserted that at least 20 Syrian tanks and 6 Syrian fortified positions had been destroyed, while 37 Syrians had been taken prisoner and a Soviet‐made SU‐100 tank cap tured.
[The Damascus radio re ported that 11 Israeli planes had been shot down and 12 Israeli tanks destroyed.]
At one point, an Italian jet liner was struck and damaged by an aerial missile near Da mascus. The Syrians accused the Israelis, who denied respon bility. [Details on Page 10.]
Attack Across Suez Canal
Egypt, possibly in an at tempt to relieve pressure on Syria, twice sent jets across the Suez Canal to attack Is raeli positions, a spokesman said. One MIG‐17 was shot down by antiaircraft fire in the northern section of the canal, he said.
For much of the day Israel and Syria exchanged artillery, mortar and tank fire across a wide front of the cease‐fire line.
Then, an Israeli armored col umn rolled across the cease fire line in the Golan heights south of Rafid in the afternoon and attacked Syrian fortifica tions and tank concentrations, a spokesman said, before with drawing four hours later.
At 2:30 P.M. a Syrian ar mored unit retaliated by at tacking east of the Israeli occupied city of El Quneitra, in the central Golan heights plateau. Israeli military spokes men said the Syrians had been repulsed, with the loss of a number of armored vehicles.
Syrian Camps Bombed
Yesterday's fighting began when, for the second successive day, Israeli jets bombed Syrian Army camps on the outskirts of Damascus and near Es SU weida in the morning. Other Is raeli air strikes continued sporadically throughout the area all day.
Israel says the current battle began Wednesday when Syrian tanks tried to cross the cease fire line to attack an Israeli outpost after heavy artillery barrages.
The fighting has now clearly transcended an ordinary cease fire violation and it is equally clear that large units have been employed by both sides.
The Israelis said their pilots had shot down two Syrian MIG‐21's that rose to challenge the Israeli fighter‐bombers this morning and that one Israeli pilot abandoned his damaged aircraft and parachuted over Syria. Two MIG‐17's were shot down in the afternoon, spokes men said, when they tried to attack the Israeli armored col umn and were met by Israeli planes flying air cover.
Since the fighting began on Wednesday, the Israelis have reported 10 soldiers killed and 38 wounded. Israel has made no official claims of Syrian casualties, but sources said they had been heavy.
The Israelis also say they have now shot down a total of five Syrian jets, they also said they had destroyed seven tanks before yesterday's tank battle.
The Israelis have not dis cussed any equipment losses of their own except the jet shot down yesterday. It was appar ently not one of the new Amer ican F‐4 Phantoms, because the Phantom carries a radar offi cer as well as a pilot.
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