Israel Jets Attack Egyptian Targets; Two Israeli Soldiers Killed, Two Wounded

Israel Air Force jets attacked Egyptian targets in the Suez Canal zone for 35 minutes today and returned safely to their bases. An Israeli soldier was killed yesterday and another was wounded last night in exchanges of fire with Egyptian forces across the canal. The name of the dead soldier was withheld pending notification of next of kin. An Israeli soldier was killed yesterday and another wounded when a mine exploded near Ajar village in the Golan Heights. The dead man was identified as Corp. Daniel Liberty, 20, of Ramat Gan. A military spokesman said today that the silencing of Egyptian artillery along the Suez Canal was one of the main assignments of the Israel Air Force. He said daily sorties were necessary because the Egyptians were continuously shifting their gun positions.

Egyptian artillery took a heavy toll during the past week. Nine Israeli soldiers were killed, among them seven who died when a shell scored a direct hit on an officers’ mess Saturday. A spokesman said that Israeli planes have carried out 14 attacks in the past few days. Two of the raids were not on the canal zone but against Safaga, an Egyptian naval base 350 kilometers south of the canal. The raids took place last Saturday but were not announced at the time. There are still no details available. A military spokesman said only that the objectives were limited and that the attacks were not against naval targets. In contrast to their artillery barrages. Egyptian air and ground raids on Israeli positions in the Sinai peninsula have been ineffective, the spokesman said. Six Egyptian planes have been shot down over Sinai in recent attacks and heavy casualties were inflicted on Egyptian commandos. Israeli casualties were three killed and several men wounded.