20 Killed in Rebel Raid on Salvador Garrison : Guerrillas Fire Mortar and Artillery Shells at Provincial Base 90 Miles East of Capital

Leftist rebels firing mortar and artillery shells attacked an army post in Morazan province, killing 12 soldiers and one civilian and wounding 31, the military said Saturday.

Col. Mauricio Ernesto Vargas, commander of the 4th Detachment in San Francisco Gotera, 90 miles east of the capital, said that seven of about 200 rebels were killed in the surprise attack that began shortly before midnight Friday.

In a special broadcast over their clandestine Radio Venceremos, the insurgents claimed to have killed 36 soldiers, wounded 42 and captured a large quantity of arms, while suffering no casualties of their own.

A U.S. Embassy spokesman said none of the 55 U.S. military advisers in El Salvador were assigned to the 4th Detachment garrison and none were present during the attack. About 1,500 troops are usually stationed in the 4th Detachment.

The joint high command of leftist rebels said the attack was launched to commemorate International Labor Day, May 1.

“Approximately 200 terrorists began the attack at 11:40 p.m. (Friday) and continued to 1 a.m. (Saturday),” the military said. “The attack was carried out with artillery, mortars and other arms, and they placed explosives around the town.”

“The action against the 4th Detachment caused only light damage to the military installations but caused greater damage to the surrounding houses,” the statement said.

The military said one civilian was killed and 15 wounded when mortar shells hit the town, a small commercial center in the combat-torn region. The garrison is built on its north side.

Vargas showed reporters 40 satchels of explosives left behind by the rebels. He said most of the casualties occurred in fighting on the edge of town, not inside the garrison.

A special communique issued by the rebels umbrella group, the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, and telexed to United Press International, said the attack was part of a “strategic operation named ‘Greetings to the valiant working class,’ ” to commemorate International Labor Day.

It said the rebels had simultaneously attacked the town’s airstrip, the peripheral defense, the helicopter pad and artillery, the National Police headquarters and the central headquarters of the 4th Detachment.

On March 31, rebels struck at the 4th Infantry Battalion garrison at El Paraiso, killing 69 soldiers, including a U.S. military adviser, and wounding 60.