A British soldier and a railway engineer were killed this morning when Arab sabotage of a railway bridge three miles beyond Lydda caused the derailment of a locomotive and two cars of a Haifa-bound train.
Another soldier and the assistant engineer were seriously injured in the wreck, one of the worst since the Arab disorders started more than ten weeks ago.
Arab snipers hidden in the hills through which the tracks run poured rifle fire into the train as soon as it had crashed. Whether any of the passengers were wounded had not been ascertained late this afternoon.
The train’s military convoy returned the snipers’ fire, wounding one of them seriously.
The passengers were taken to Haifa in a special train while workers set about clearing the wreckage.
The railway bridge, which spanned a culvert, had been almost completely removed by the Arab rebels.
SOLDIERS WOUNDED IN ARAB AMBUSH
Three Arabs were believed killed and two Scottish troopers were wounded in clashes early today near Ain Sinya and Ain Haramya on the Nablus road.
Troops pursuing rebels who ambushed the troops at Ain Sinya gave up the search after they could find no trace of the Arabs, ammunition or even bodies of Arabs believed shot in the encounter. The troops narrowly escaped injury when they discovered the road had been mined with a Mills bomb.
A band of Arabs, estimated at between 40 and 50 rifles, ambushed a military patrol at the former place. Airplanes flew from Ramallah, in response to a call for reinforcements and helped to rout the band. Troops and planes pursued it into the hills.
An armored car was fired on near Lubban. One of the snipers was wounded, but escaped.
Sniping was reported in Tiberias. Two bombs exploded near Samakh.
A British corporal was wounded when a military railway trolley was ambushed near Kufa Ginniss.
During the night, troops were fired on along the Jerusalem-Jaffa road.
The Government printing offices and King David Hotel in Jerusalem were the target of snipers.
BRITISH CORPORAL DIES IN CLASH
An official communique on yesterday’s engagement between British troops and Arabs in the Nablus hills said the British corporal killed was James Hunter. The five-hour battle took a toll of ten Arabs killed and seven wounded.
Coordination between air forces and armored car detachments was credited with the routing of Arabs by troops in the Nablus hills.
After a detachment of the Seaforth Highlanders regiment had been battling the rebels for five hours, killing four and wounding three, airplanes and four armored cars arrived on the scene. At a signal from the armored cars, the planes swooped down and raked the rebels with machine-gun fire, killing six and wounding four of them.
Police with machine-guns routed Arabs attacking the Kiriat Anavim settlement last night. No casualties were reported.
Five Communists were arrested at Haifa.
Using bloodhounds, Government forces tracked Arabs who attacked Ataroth Wednesday night, killing one Jew. They seized one Arab at the Beth Hanina village with 75 rounds of ammunition in his possession as well as detonators and fuses.
Police and military forces surrounded the Arab village of Kolonia near Motza and searched houses for arms. They found many rifles and a large supply of ammunition. Several Arabs were arrested.
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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.
