Rome, June 13.
While Italy's land forces apparently remained comparatively inactive again today, the Italian air force launched widespread raids on British and French naval bases in the Mediterranean and also on the important French port of Toulon, the Italian High Command announced.
The Italian communique admitted that British planes had raided upper Italy last night, bombing the town of Turin and killing a number of civilians, it stated.
Italian bombers attacked Bizerta, coastal port of Tunisia, and caused many fires to break out in that city, the communique said, Allied warplanes on a landing field near Bizerta were heavily bombed and nine were put out of commission, it was claimed.
Other units of the Fast air force roared over Toulon, French port south-east of Marseilles, and caused considerable damage, the communique stated.
Italian submarines in the Mediterranean yesterday and today extensively attacked Allied shipping, it was asserted, and: an Allied cruiser and one 10,000-ton tanker were torpedoed.
British "warships and planes attempted to attack Tokra, in Cyrenaica, but were repulsed with heavy losses by combined Italian land, sea and air counter-attacks, it was' disclosed.
In Italian East Africa, "enemy air attacks were undertaken on aerodromes at Asmara, Gura, Adiugri and Adorgat, causing slight damage and killing about a dozen foreigners and natives employed at the airfields," the Italian communique stated. The number of enemy planes shot down over Cy alca has increased to si it was announced.—United Press.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.