CLAIMS BY ITALY

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21208, 3 September 1940, Page 6

CLAIMS BY ITALY

BRITISH PLANES DOWNED FIGHTING IN AFRICA SEVERAL TOWNS BOMBED (United Pre«s Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright) (Received Sept. 3, 3.15 p.m.) ROME, Sept. 2 A communique states: British planes bombed open country in Sardinia last night. Others attacked Piedmont and Lombardy. Three enemy planes were shot down. The enemy during the raids on Piedmont and Lombardy dropped four bombs on a village in the Varese district. There were no casualties. Two Italian reconnaissance planes have not returned to their bases. The enemy in West Africa attempted to attack Haroil Island, 80 miles from Massawa. Two enemy planes were brought down. The enemy hit a military hospital at Tobruk on August 31. One person was killed. Our Air Force effectively bombed and machine-gunned a troop camp south of Maman, beyond Kassala. It is officially established that the enemy lost 22 men and one armoured car during a recent encounter near the Eritrean-Sudan border. Has Buna Been Occupied? It is authoritatively stated in London that it is impossible to confirm or deny the Italian claim that they have occupied Buna, to which British troops retired after encounters at Moyalo. Light forces hold Buna, which can be approached and attacked from the north-west and north-east, also a road enters the town from Italian Somaliland, thus it is not in a good position to hold.