U. S. Continues Support in Laos

Official U. S. military sources claimed yesterday that the American supported South Vietnamese offensives in Laos and Cambodia have forced North Vietnam into a defensive position and disrupted Hanoi's plans for dry-season attacks.

Fighting continued in southern Lactian jungles where 16,000 South Vietnamese troops are attempting to cut off the Ho Chi Minh trail North Vietnamese supply line.

According to a report in the Chicago Daily News, if the South Vietnamese can achieve their goal they will have dealt the North Vietnamese a "mortal blow" because Hanoi's supplies would not reach the thousands of troops to be supported in Cambodia and South Vietnam.

Although fighting was considered "light" in comparison with last week's heavy battling, the South Vietnamese have abandoned another position along the trail, According to Lt. Col. Tran Van An, however, "In Laos there is no fixed position for South Vietnamese troops. The offensive is with us, so we move around."

U. S. headquarters announced regrouping and reinforcing of both South and North Vietnamese troops for bigger ac-tion in Laos. They also reported increases in American helicopter forces supporting the operation.

One U. S. source in Saigon said, "North Vietnam has been placed on the defensive and has diverted large numbers of troops in defense of its supply lines as opposed to offensives."

Despite the reported 50 per cent reduction of North Vietnamese traffic on the Ho Chi Minh trail, another American source said, "Traffic has been slowed a little due to the South Vietnamese offensive, but I don't think they're ever going to cut the trail. You'd have to put up a fence all the way across Laos."

American fighter-bombers made another "protective reaction" strike against antiaircraft positions and missile sites in North Vietnam Sunday, U. S. headquarters reported. The 15-plane attack was the third of such large size within nine days, the 16th this year.