The World : U.S. Advisers Fire on Rebels

U.S. military advisers, caught in a gun battle between Salvadoran army forces and attacking guerrillas two weeks ago, opened fire on the leftist rebels for the first time since the United States stationed military advisers in El Salvador, the Washington Post reported. Defense Department officials said three U.S. advisers were inside the army facility and acted in self-defense when they fired their M-16 rifles at guerrillas who attacked the 4th Brigade headquarters on Sept. 13. Sixteen Salvadoran soldiers and five guerrillas were killed in the assault, according to an official U.S. memorandum, which added there were “no indications of guerrilla casualties as a result of the U.S. defensive fire.”