Stockholm, Feb. 21.
The small Swedish township of Pajala was still blazing after a Soviet bombing attack when Wilhelm Winther, Swedish Minister in Moscow, lodged a strong protest at the Kremlin this evening.
Seven Red bombers participated 1n the raid over the little city, located in Lapland in the valley of the River Terne some six miles from the Swedish-Finnish frontier. The town has a population of 1,000 and, according to, latest reports, there were no casualties.
The attack was launched at 1 o'clock in the afternoon when the raiders, flying at an altitude of between 10,000 and 13,000 feet, dropped aerial torpedoes and incendiary bombs on the township. Estimates on the number of missiles dropped reported 50 high explosive and several hundreds of incendiary bombs to have been showered down. Many failed to explode.
Several missiles fell in the centre of Pajala, where three houses were destroyed by the resultant fire. Considerable other damage was done as bombs fell close to the town church and to a saw mill, which was destroyed. Workmen were in the building shortly before the attack was made, but left it for prepared shelters just in time.
"When the rain of bombs ceased, the seven Soviet aircraft were sighted making off toward the Finnish frontier en route to their bases in the eas Havas, As for operations in the Viipuri sector, military experts agree that the lines occupied by the Finns are much stronger than those already evacuated, The Russians bombed this sector with their planes, concentrating on the little town of Risimaki which was badly damaged.
An American volunteer airman declared that the Russians threw at least a thousand bombs on the town, adding that he had never in his life seen such a waste of munitions. One civilian was killed and about twenty houses damaged by the bombing.—Havas.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.