SYND 20 9 77 LEBANON FIGHTING

(19 Sep 1977) A lighting dawn counterattack by Palestinian guerrillas in South Lebanon drove Israeli-backed rightists from a key frontier position....(19 Sep 1977) A lighting dawn counterattack by Palestinian guerrillas in South Lebanon drove Israeli-backed rightists from a key frontier position. The Palestinians, and their leftist Lebanese allies over ran Tallat al Khiam, in a one-hour battle that destroyed six rightist tanks and left about twenty rightist dead scattered about the battlefield. Rightist officials made no mention of the battle, which occured two days after their tanks had taken the hill position with the heaviest Israeli artillery backing in the ten months of border war. Witnesses also reported that Israeli forces in half-tracks were observed moving back across the Lebanese frontier into Israel.