IDF is Target of Ii Attacks in 24 Hours; No Casualties Reported

The Israel Defense Force in south Lebanon was the target of II attacks in the past 24 hours, none of which caused casualties. But an Israeli soldier was slightly wounded in a clash with terrorists during a search of Shiite villages today.

Another soldier died today of wounds sustained two weeks ago in an attack on the IDF. A military spokesman identified him as Sgt. Yariv Lahav, 21, of Moshav Tamerin.

Four attacks on IDF patrols and convoys today involved roadside explosives near the villages of Maaroub, Arab Selimand El Basourye, all east of Typre. A patrol of the Israel-backed South Lebanon Army (SLA) was attacked with automatic Weapons and rocket-propelled grenades near Jarjoura in the Nabatiya area, without casualties.

The IDF said it killed 20 terrorists in the course of searches of two villages in the Nabatiya area and seized large quantities of weapons and sabotage materiel in their possession.

DENY IDF ADVANCING ON SIDON

Meanwhile, an IDF spokesman denied reports from Beirut and United Nations sources that an Israeli armored column was advancing on Sidon, the south Lebanon seaport evacuated by the IDF a month ago, where fighting is going on between rival groups of Christian Phalangists and Shiite Moslem militiamen. Army sources said the reports may have confused Sidon with Sidune village, some 15 kilometers to the east, which is still in IDF control.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said that two villages, Jeneta and Serfiya, were searched by IDF units today in the presence of Finnish UNIFIL troops in the latter and French troops in the former. The villages, located between Tyre and Nabatiya, were the scenes of several attacks on IDF patrols in recent days.