Heavy Fighting on Golan Continues; 2 Israeli Phantoms Downed; 5 Israelis Wounded, 1 Killed

Israel Air Force jets attacked Syrian targets in the Mt. Hermon region, beginning at 2:45 p.m. local time today and returned safely to their bases. A Syrian MIG-21 attempting to cross Israeli lines in the same region was chased off by Israeli interceptors. The Syrian front was relatively quiet yesterday and remained so this morning after fighting on Friday reached the intensity of a full-scale war.

Syrian jets challenged Israeli Air Force planes Friday for the first time since the Yom Kippur War as Israeli jets pounded targets deep inside Syrian territory. Israel reported the loss of two Phantom jets in these operations to Syrian SAM-missile fire and said two Syrian MIG-21s were shot down in aerial combat. Five Israeli soldiers were wounded Friday during heavy Syrian shelling of Israeli positions on Mt. Hermon and all along the cease-fire lines.

Israel Air Force jets struck at Syrian artillery emplacements and armor concentrations well behind the front lines and hit a radar station near Zabadani, some 40 kilometers east of Mt. Hermon. Direct hits were scored and severe damage was done, an Israeli communique said. The two pilots of the Israeli Phantom lost during the in-depth attacks were seen bailing out over Syrian territory. A Syrian communique said one of the pilots was severely injured and was rushed to a hospital to undergo surgery. The other was found dead, according to the Syrians. The second lost Israeli plane crashed in the Mt. Hermon region. The fate of its crew was not reported.

Israeli engineers meanwhile succeeded in building a road from positions on the slopes of Mt. Hermon to its peak. The road is now being used by Israeli armor to re-enforce positions on the mountain top, according to an Israeli military spokesman.