Israeli Troops, Tanks Raid Lebanese Village; 25 Guerrillas Killed

Israeli troops, backed by tanks, stormed a southern Lebanese village outside their occupation zone today, overpowered the small Lebanese army garrison and killed at least 25 people the Israeli command said were guerrillas.

The clash came one day after 12 Israeli soldiers were killed by a suicide truck bomber and 14 others were wounded in occupied south Lebanon. (Story on Page 6.) Prime Minister Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin vowed that Israel would retaliate.

The suicide truck-bomb attack occurred just inside Lebanon north of the Israeli border town of Metulla. Zrariye, target of today’s raid, is 15 miles west of Metulla.

The dawn assault on the Shia Muslim town followed a nightlong artillery bombardment. Residents said the shelling began a few hours after the suicide bombing near Metulla.

Zrariye’s assistant police chief said an Israeli force of as many as 300 vehicles and about 1,000 soldiers invaded the town and took away enough prisoners to fill two buses and a truck.

The Israelis pulled out just before sundown, covering their withdrawal with smoke grenades, permitting the entry of reporters and Red Cross teams who had been waiting in nearby villages.

A message sprayed in black paint on the walls of the town’s main square read: “This is the revenge of the Israeli defense forces.”

“Hell has broken loose,” said a Lebanese military source near Zrariye. “There is very extensive damage in the village and surrounding area.

“The Israeli tanks are still pounding Zrariye with helicopters overhead,” the source said before the pullout. “At least 10 of our soldiers have been captured and there are dozens of casualties.”

“Israeli troops supported by tanks and armored vehicles stormed Zrariye,” Beirut radio said, and there were reports of hand-to-hand combat inside the village between the Israeli troops and Lebanese army soldiers, with the villagers supporting the regulars.

The radio, quoting initial casualty reports, said 13 villagers were wounded in the confrontation with Israeli troops.

The Israeli military command acknowledged 24 guerrillas slain and 10 Lebanese soldiers arrested and said its troops “captured many suspects and weapons in great quantities” during the Zrariye raid.

The command’s announcement said: “The Lebanese army was told not to interfere in the (Israeli Defense Forces) action, and only after it fired at our forces, fire was returned in its direction and 10 of its soldiers were arrested. Our forces are still active in the village, continuing searches for weapons and guerrillas.”

Reinforcements From Sidon

Beirut radio said the Lebanese army command in the southern port of Sidon sent reinforcements to Zrariye as the fighting escalated.

A spokesman for the military command in Beirut said the Defense Ministry received reports of “an Israeli helicopter landing at the village” at dawn.

A spokesman for the Lebanese army, which has now fought Israeli forces three times since they withdrew from the area around the port city of Sidon on Feb. 16, said an Israeli army mechanized patrol advanced on Zrariye and opened fire with tanks on a handful of Lebanese troops defending the outpost.