Israeli Copters Blast Guerrilla Sites in Lebanon

Israeli helicopter gunships rocketed Palestinian camps near this southern Lebanese city Sunday, wounding at least 10 people, Lebanese security sources said.

The sources said four helicopters, protected by two fighter planes, attacked guerrilla bases in the Ein el Hilwa and Miye ou Miye camps and in an area south of Sidon. A 13-year-old girl was among the injured, they added.

In Beirut, parts of the capital’s eastern sector were a battleground all day as rebel Christian militiamen seized control of the streets. There were widespread rumors that the rebels planned to oust the anti-Syrian command of the Lebanese Forces, the nation’s largest Christian militia.

Civilian Casualties

In southern Lebanon, Palestinian sources said most of the casualties from the Israeli attack were civilians, adding that the helicopters fired more than 16 rockets and missiles at a range of about three miles.

They said one Israeli copter also fired a rocket at Miye ou Miye but was driven off by ground fire.

The security sources said the raid badly damaged three Palestinian bases--two of them belonging to Fatah, the mainstream guerrilla faction led by Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat, and the third to the dissident Abu Moussa Group, which is supported by Syria and opposed to Arafat’s leadership of Fatah.

In Tel Aviv, an Israeli military spokesman said Israeli aircraft attacked what he termed headquarters of Arafat’s Fatah group and those of his Abu Moussa opponents.

Rockets Across Border

Just before the announcement, security sources in Tel Aviv said several Soviet-designed Katyusha rockets had been fired from Lebanon into northern Israel. No casualties were reported.

About 200 people fled Miye ou Miye after the air raid as scores of heavily armed Palestinians cordoned off the camps. Ambulances raced through Sidon’s streets, and residents sped home, fearing further raids.

The attack was the sixth Israeli air raid on Lebanon this year. Israeli helicopters last attacked the Sidon camps on July 10, killing two people and wounding eight.

Ein el Hilwa is the biggest refugee camp in Lebanon, housing at least 30,000 people. Miye ou Miye has about 3,000.