Israelis Bomb Guerrilla Site in Lebanon : Syrian Forces React With Missiles; Radio Claims Heavy Losses

Israeli warplanes attacked a Palestinian guerrilla base in eastern Lebanon today, the second such air strike in 24 hours. Beirut radio stations said Syrian forces unleashed a screen of ground-to-air missiles against the jets.

The military command in Tel Aviv said all its planes returned safely to base after scoring “accurate hits” on a suspected guerrilla base along the Beirut-Damascus highway in the Bekaa Valley.

The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the main pro-Soviet faction in the Palestine Liberation Organization, reported “heavy human losses among civilians, including women and children.” It gave no figures.

Lebanese state radio quoted police sources as saying Israeli jets dropped delayed-action bombs during the raid near Taalbaya and said some were still exploding three hours later.

Second Strike in 24 Hours

It was Israel’s second air strike in the area within 24 hours and the third this year.

The attack took place about a mile from the highway town of Chtoura, which houses the command of the Syrian army along the Bekaa cease-fire line with Israel.

On the ground, Israel’s forces continued to thin out their presence around the port city of Sidon in preparation for the first phase of a three-stage plan to withdraw from southern Lebanon.

Shortly before midday, Israeli troops evacuated positions at the Siniq bridge at the southern entrance to Sidon. But they maintained their positions on the Awali River just north of the city.

Position Bulldozed

Three bulldozers leveled the entire Siniq position, and Israeli troops waved to onlookers as their convoy left Sidon. The pullout from the Sidon area is scheduled for next Monday.

Two Israeli jets bombed a suspected base of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine on Sunday in the same area where Israeli planes struck today. (Story on Page 4.) Witnesses said a woman and her child were killed in the Sunday bombing and the woman’s husband was seriously wounded.