VIET CONG UNITS MORE ACTIVE

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30841, 28 August 1965, Page 15

VIET CONG UNITS MORE ACTIVE

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) SAIGON, August 27. Viet Gong guerrillas overran a military outpost within nine miles of Saigon early today, inflicting heavy casualties on the small group of civil guard defenders.

They also mortared the nearbv district headquarters of Binh Chanh, causing some casualties. A relief force of crack South Vietnamese Army rangers rushing to the outpost was ambushed and turned back. At dawn the guerrillas with-

drew from the outpost, which had been flattened by shellfire. The attack began shortly after midnight when the 35 defenders at the Tan Nhut outpost came under heavy fire from recoilless rifles, and later from machine gun and small arms fire. It was the second attack on the outpost within a month. The guerrillas were driven off in the first attack, but captured another outpost nearby. Two hours after the attack began early today, mortar shells began falling on Binh Chanh, about 3} miles away. FORCED BACK A ranger unit from the town ran into a guerrilla ambush half way to the outpost, and after several hours’ fighting was forced to turn back. In air action yesterday, 852 jets of the United States Strategic Air Command bombed the Viet Cong stronghold of War Zone D. near the Australian and United States Bien Hoa airbase. It was the 11th raid on Viet Cong targets by the bombers. Under the new military security regulations, details of

I the tonnage and type of bombs ; dropped were not released I Tuesday’s shelling of the I Bien Hoa airbase is thought to have been launched from I the dense jungle of War Zone D. which contains an estimated 8000 guerrillas. The Viet Cong raid resulted in a total of 49 American and ■ South Vietnamese aircraft be- . ing damaged. : Round-the-clock strikes continued against North Vietnam yesterday, the targets includ- ] ing a railway bridge, river [barges, road traffic, barracks and a military supply area.