The World - News from July 21, 1988

U.S. Marines based in Panama twice exchanged gunfire with unidentified intruders spotted at an American military installation near the Panama Canal, according to the U.S. Southern Command. No one was reported injured. A statement released by the Southern Command’s press office said the first incident occurred Tuesday afternoon when a Marine patrol encountered two armed intruders close to a fuel depot near Howard Air Base. The intruders failed to heed an order to stop and fled into dense jungle after a Marine fired shots into the air, the Southern Command said. About five hours later, Marines patrolling the east side of the depot ran into six more intruders, the statement added.