Rome, Mar, 2.
Possession by British troops of "special iron weapons to break the heads of Italian soldiers" was alleged in a report carried by the Stefani News Agency from its correspondent stationed on the island of Rhodes, According to the report, British troops which carried out a raid on the island of Castelrosso, approximately 10 miles off the southwestern coast of Turkey, carried "special iron weapons to break the heads of Italian soldiers."
The correspondent, who did not describe the "special iron weapons," however claimed that the British were driven off the island after two day's occupation when "all English soldiers, with their arms, ammunition, supplies and flag" were captured. (A joint communique by the British Admiralty and the War Office on March 1 stated that British forces which occupied Castel-rosso on February 21 were with. drawn having accomplished their objective.)
The Stefani correspondent discerned a British attempt to put pressure on Turkey during Mr, Anthony Eden's visit to Ankara by making a sudden attack on the island near Turkish shores, "Such a performance, however, wag a failure because the Italian garrison which had been resisting the assailants for seven hours were rescued when Italian troops again captured the island," the Italian reports said.—Domei,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.