Damascus, June 28, Seventy persons killed and 29 wounded and more than 100 houses damaged-that is the tragic toll of last Wednesday's cold-blooded raid by Nazi planes on Damascus, Syria's ancient capital, One bomb fell within 10 yards of the famed Ommayad Mosque and the tomb of Saladin, The windows of the mosque and walls are scarred by bomb splinters, All round lie masses of stonework and brick, all that remains of six houses which received a direct hit.
Crowds of silent Moslem women stood watching with tear-stained eyes while workmen cleared the debris and searched for further victims, One Arab pathetically clutched my arm as I was leaving and asked in broken English, "Will they come again tonight?"
There is no doubt that the attack was a premeditated murderous assault as the nearest military objective—the Mezza airport—is at least 12 miles distant, Damascus was not even blacked out, High French military authorities are confident following an enquiry that the bombs were of German origin, One weighing 1,006 pounds caused immense damage in the crowded business centre of Sidi Amud where it made a deep crater in the roadway and wrecked houses and shops, Reuter, Nazi "Prison" Ship
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.