Flier in Israeli Raid Reported a Shia Captive
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SIDON, Lebanon — A missing Israeli flier whose F-4 Phantom fighter-bomber was shot down during a raid on Palestinian guerrilla bases was reported alive today and in the hands of Shia Muslim fighters.
“The captive has a fractured arm. Otherwise he is well,” said a spokesman for Justice Minister Nabih Berri’s mainstream Shia Amal militia, who refused to be identified further.
It was not immediately possible to verify the claim. In Beirut, Amal headquarters said it is not holding an Israeli.
The spokesman in Sidon declined to disclose where the Israeli airman is being held, although reports circulated in Sidon that he had been moved to Beirut overnight. A second airman aboard the Phantom F-4E was rescued by the Israelis 90 minutes after the plane was shot down Thursday during a raid in which Beirut radio reported four people killed and 10 wounded.
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