Word: mortars
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Stalled Column. From there it was only four miles to Baraka, but hardly had Hoare's men moved out than their charge began to stall. On the outskirts of town, two battalions of Simbas rained mortar, bazooka and machine-gun fire on the commandos. A spearhead led by Hoare's two armored cars finally broke through, but it was two long days before he was in firm control of Baraka, and then only after most of the town had been destroyed. Death toll: five commandos, 215 Simbas...
...Sundra, a caravansary in the salt wastes of the Thar, Pakistani irregulars were doing their laundry one morning when an Indian 3-in. mortar shell slammed into their midst. Killed: a brown goat. The Paks - camel-riding Indus Rangers and bearded Hur rifle men - ducked behind mud walls and blazed back in the best Gunga Din fashion. A strafing run by Indian Vampire jets failed to dislodge the Pakistanis -indeed, they reported, did not even disturb the vultures circling overhead...
...creaking back-country bus filled with women and children suddenly explodes; a small town echoes to the shrieks of the dying as mortar shells are casually lobbed into its midst; a plastique charge shreds a Saigon café. Common enough events in South Viet Nam, they are part of the Viet Cong's conscious policy of killing and maiming civilians. Last year alone, some 11,000 innocent civilians were killed or kidnaped by the Viet Cong in their calculated campaign of terrorism...
...from Navy Commodore Francisco Rivera Caminero, leader of the armed forces, who warned Imbert to give in or be forced out. Even then, Imbert kept insisting that the proposed settlement was too favorable to the leftist rebels. In a last-ditch flurry, the loyalists one night last week lobbed mortar shells into the rebel zone, touching off a two-hour exchange that left six dead...
...continue to oppose the OAS solution," L.B.J. said at a news conference, "are serving no true interest of their country or peace in the world." At last, Imbert admitted defeat. Twenty-four hours after the mortar attack, he went on TV and announced the resignation of the junta, as a face-saving gesture to avoid signing the final truce. "To wait longer, to add to this period which is affecting the nation and democracy," he announced solemnly, "is not what patriotism recommends...