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I.n-*yofinn-idid)iiieictnese nave special relations give grounu siuoouuuy.N. Viet Forces MoveToward Cl A CenterSAIGON (AP) — North Viet-j its third day. North Vietnamese names e troops advanced,forces were so close to govern*; Wednesday toward a Laotian' - •• • —:sarmy base and U.S. Central Intelligence Agency center in northern Laos, sending ahead commando squads to probe its defenses.Military sources in Vietiane said the commandos poured rocket and mortar fire into the secret base at Long Cheng, 78r-miles north of Vientiane, the Laotian administrative capital. Large concentrations of North Vietnamese troops were observed moving toward the town following their seizure of the Plain of Jars.Telephone reports from the Laotain capital said some of the 30,000 Meo tribesmen who had sought refuge at Long Cheng to escape earlier fighting were streaming out of the town.Long Cheng is on the southern edge of the Plain of Jars, which fell Tuesday to Communist-led forces in the fourth day of their annual dry season offensive. It is the fifth-largest town in Laos.For years it has served as a combination refugee camp, northern military headquarters for Royal Lao and Thai troops, a communications and intelligence center for the CIA and a training base for the CIA-led army of Meo hill tribesmen.Long Cheng’s 3,500-foot airstrip is the best in northern Laos. It serves Air America transport planes and helicopters and Laotian air force T28 ‘ bombers, some of which are ’ flown by Thai pilots. American mechanics keep the bombers in condition.Some of the shells in the rocket and mortar barrage hit the airstrip, damaging three light observation planes and killing three government soldiers, according to reports from Vietiane.The Saigon command and U.S. spokesmen here reported little military action in South Vietnam, but fighting continued in Cambodia 46 miles north of Phnom Penh.A Cambodian spokesman said a battle for the riverside village of Peam Chhkork enteredment front lines that allied warplanes were unable to bomb and strafe effectively.The spokesman, Capt. Chhang Song, also revealed that Cambodia had no plans for a Christmas cease-fire similar to the 24-hour truce proclaimed by South Vietnam.In addition to its truce the South Vietnamese government announced it will free 689 political prisoners in a Christmas amnesty.North Vietnam and the Viet Cong have not indicated whether they plan to release any American prisoners.IIR egulationIs DelayingJury Probe1Pto:BFHARDPFS’DJ.CFCHARLESTON, W. Va. (AP) — A Justice Department regulation, prohibiting FBI agents from testifying before state investigative bodies without special consent, is delaying a special grand jury’s probe into allegations of brutality c_t the Kanawha County Jail.Prosecutor Patrick Casey has said he feels the testimony of the agent is vital in the investigation, begun by the special grand jury nearly a month ago.There is a regulation forbidding the testimony of federal agents unless prior consent is given, and Judge Perry Poffen-barger said Wednesday he could not force a man to violate laws.The agent conducted an in-vestigaton in September into conditions at the jail. There were reports Wednesday that permission is being sought in Washington to allow him to testify.The grand jury was also impanel to investigate possible corruption in the Charleston police force and drug traffic in Charleston.RRW\VDJ.a:ciildiN.1thw:frNlt;G;g‘artrminK
Newspaper Details
Post Herald
Beckley, West Virginia, US
Thu, Dec 23, 1971
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Tim G.
USA 06 Jun 2019
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