Viet Cong Bomb Building

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30944, 28 December 1965, Page 9

Viet Cong Bomb Building

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter —Copyright) SAIGON, Dec. 27. Viet Cong guerrillas today blasted the South Vietnamese Army headquarters at Sa Dec city, 70 miles south of Saigon. First reports said 14 had been killed and 42 wounded. Officials said the blast was caused by a plastic bomb. The blast occurred at the

headquarters of the 9th Division.

The first reports said the casualties were believed to be all soldiers. NO AIR RAIDS

Elsewhere little ground action was reported. American forces held off air attacks on North Vietnam for the third day in succession. A spokesman said no orders to resume the bombings had been received from Washington.

However, American planes struck at Viet Cong targets in South Vietnam.

American planes have not bombed North Vietnam since Christmas Eve, when a 30hour American and South Vietnamese truce went into effect. The cease-fire expired more than 30 hours ago. The Viet Cong had declared a 12hour truce. UNDER PRESSURE

Washington has been under strong diplomatic pressure to stop the air war on the north in the hope it might bring the Viet Cong to the confer-

ence table. Previously such aerial lulls have produced no results.

United States military officials in Saigon said the 30hour ceasefire had been largely a one-sided experiment. They said the 12-hour truce offered by the Viet Cong had lasted only about six hours. VICTORY PREDICTED

The United States was “tirelessly prattling about unconditional discussions" for a settlement in Vietnam, Hanoi’s official newspaper said today. “They are acting as if they really wanted peace in order to brand the Vietnamese people as bellicose,” said an article in the party paper “Nhan Dan.” Radio Hanoi, which quoted the article, made no comment on the Christmas truce and world appeals for its expansion.

“Nhan Dan” predicted eventual victory for the Viet Cong but said they would have “to overcome innumerable hardships and difficulties.”

"The Vietnamese people should guard themselves from self-complacency and should not slight the enemy," it said. Each time the United States spoke of peace, the Hanoi article said, “they invariably sent another batch of troops to South Vietnam to expand their war of aggression there."

“Nhan Dan" said American casualties had risen from 1690 in September to 3000 in October and 5300 in November. A total of 50 battalions, including four United States battalions, had been annihilated during 1965, it added. The Viet Cong also had destroyed 2500 American aircraft in South Vietnam and 850 more over North Vietnam.

“Militarily it is obvious that the Vietnamese people are winning and the United States is losing,” it said. “Politically, their isolation is becoming more and more serious.”