Rebels Hit Salvador Defense Ministry
Leftist guerrillas attacked the Defense Ministry compound in the capital with rocket-propelled grenades Monday, killing one government soldier and wounding eight people, a military official said.
The defense minister, Gen. Rene Emilio Ponce, identified the dead soldier as Sgt. Raul Antonio Rodriguez. He said two more soldiers and six civilian employees at the ministry were also wounded.
At a news conference Monday, Ponce said five Chinese-made rocket-propelled grenades landed in the fortified compound covering two city blocks on the southwestern edge of San Salvador. They also destroyed two vehicles and did minor damage to several buildings.
Witnesses said the rebels opened up with the RPG-7 grenades shortly before noon on a building housing the Deputy Defense Ministry, an adjoining workshop and a gasoline pump inside the compound. Government soldiers on guard at the compound fired back, and the rebels quickly withdrew, the witnesses said.
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