V. Cong Blow Up Bridges

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30946, 30 December 1965, Page 9

V. Cong Blow Up Bridges

(N.Z.P.A. Reuter—Copyright!

DA NANG, Dec. 29.

Viet Cong guerrillas early today overran South Vietnamese guards and blew up three bridges on the strategic coastal highway 80 miles south of Da Nang.

A United States military spokesman said local militia manning the defences suffered “moderate” casualties. All three bridges were on a stretch of the highway a few miles south of Quang Ngai city, where South Vietnam’s Second Army Division is based.

One of the bridges was a 190 ft steel structure -spanning the Va river, and linking the city with heavily-populated ricelands to the south. The other two bridges were within a few hundred yards of each other, and about five miles from the large bridge. The guerrillas were not driven off until just before dawn, when artillery was called in by the hard-pressed defenders,

Fierce clashes were reported closer to Da Nang late yesterday afternoon as the Viet Cong continued to press their northern monsoon offensive, which they started in mid-November. A small force of local militia was attacked by guerrillas outnumbering them by four to one and suffered moderate losses in hills about 25 miles

south-west of this northern garrison city. Seven miles further south, South Vietnamese infantry on a “search and destroy” operation engaged a guerrilla force of unknown size, close to the district headquarters town of Viet An which has been under constant harassment since the monsoon offensive started. Moderate casualties were reported. United States Stratofortress bombers last night bombed targets in Quang Tri province, which borders on North Vietnam. But no strikes have been carried out against North Vietnam now for five days. The last raid was before the Allied 30-hour Christmas truce came into force on December 24.

U.K. Road Toll.—The fourday Christmas holiday road toll in Britain was 76 dead and 926 seriously injured. Five fewer people died and 25 fewer were seriously injured than last year.— (P.A. Rtr. Cpy.).