Rebels Attack Salvadoran Army Posts; 27 Killed

Hundreds of leftist rebels attacked more than a dozen military positions across El Salvador on Tuesday, leaving at least 27 people dead and 141 wounded, authorities said.

Rebel and military sources said the overnight clashes took place in the provinces of Morazan, Usulutan, Chalatenango, La Paz, San Salvador, Cuscatlan and La Libertad.

Rebel sources said the new wave of attacks is expected to last for about a week and will probably concentrate on military installations in the interior of the country.

The fiercest fighting was in the eastern provincial capitals of San Francisco Gotera and Usulutan, where combat lasted more than five hours.

The guerrillas of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front also attacked the main air base on the outskirts of San Salvador, damaging one aircraft and a dormitory. Several other military positions within a 15-mile radius of the capital were also attacked.

In early reports, the armed forces said at least five soldiers, eight rebels and seven civilians had been killed. It also said 27 soldiers, eight rebels and 11 civilians had been wounded.

Hospital sources in the provincial capital of Usulutan reported that at least 11 civilians, including two children, were admitted by midmorning. Rescuers in the capital said they evacuated 14 wounded civilians from three nearby towns by late morning.

It was the biggest military operation mounted by the guerrillas since a huge offensive last November.

A resident of Usulutan city, reached by telephone, said combat was fierce until 7 a.m. He said that two air force helicopter gunships and C-7 combat planes provided support for army troops battling rebels on the city’s outskirts.

The guerrillas also hit military detachments in Santa Elena, Puerto Parada and Concepcion Batres--all in Usulutan province.

A rebel communique said the coordinated attacks were designed to punish the army for human rights abuses and “to accelerate the negotiating process.”

Negotiators from the guerrillas and El Salvador’s rightist government have held five rounds of peace talks since May. The talks have bogged down amid mutual charges of intransigence.