Israeli fighters shot down two Soviet-made Egyptian MIG-21 jets and scored hits on a third in an aerial dogfight deep over Egyptian territory today. A military spokesman said no Israeli planes were lost although Cairo has claimed that one Israeli jet was shot down.
The fight erupted as Egyptian fighters appeared over the northern section of the Suez Canal zone to challenge Israeli planes carrying out their daily raids on Egyptian artillery positions and other military installations along the waterway. Israeli jets chased the Egyptian MIGs about 30 miles west of the canal and reported that two of them exploded in mid-air and a third was trailing smoke. The Israeli planes returned to their bombing and strafing mission and were not challenged again, a military spokesman said.
Israel Air Force jets blasted Egyptian artillery and anti-aircraft positions in the northern sector of the Suez Canal zone yesterday and returned safely to their bases. A military spokesman reported that five Israeli soldiers were wounded in mining incidents and small arms fire in the canal zone over the week-end.
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