Two high ranking Israeli officers, a colonel and a captain, who were killed in a running battle with a group of El Fatah saboteurs over the weekend were buried today. Seven of the eight terrorists were killed and the eighth was wounded and captured. Four Israelis were wounded in the battle north of Jericho.
Col. Aryeh Regev, 35, commander of a brigade in the Jordan Valley, was buried in the Tel Aviv military cemetery. Capt. Gad Manelleh, 22, who was decorated for bravery during the Israeli attack last March on the Karameh terrorist base in Jordan, was buried at his kibbutz, Tel Itzhak, near Natanya. Army officials said that the eight marauders carried Soviet-style assault rifles, grenades, bazookas and explosive charges and were apparently intended for a deep penetration into Israel on sabotage assignments. In answer to questions about how such high-ranking officers could have been casualties on an action of such limited dimensions, Army officials explained that their participation stemmed from the Israeli military doctrine that officers lead their men in action, a strategy which resulted in a high proportion of officer casualties during warfare.
In a rash of weekend border incidents, Jordanians fired on Israeli patrols at six locations and civilians at one spot in northern Israel. No casualties were reported. Two Israeli border policemen were injured and hospitalized after their armored patrol car hit a mine in the Beisan Valley.
Jordan last week hanged Mahmoud Osman, a Jordanian citizen, for allegedly spying for Israel since 1962. Mr. Osman had been accused of supplying Israel with military information for a monthly salary, it was reported in London today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
