THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 28, 1995 TAG: 9501280244
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short : 35 lines
Two Marines stationed aboard the Norfolk-based amphibious transport dock Ponce have been shot and wounded in an incident in Albania, a Pentagon official said Friday.
The Marines were in Albania to take part in a first-ever training exercise with Albanian military units. A search-and-rescue exercise was to have taken place in the Adriatic Sea over the weekend.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the incident occurred while the Marines were on a liberty call in the port city of Durres.
The initial reports are not clear, but it appears the two men were hit after gunmen ``shot up a building and then took off in a car,'' the official said.
It isn't clear whether the Americans were the targets of the attack or had just been caught up in the incident, the official said.
One Marine was shot in the arm and is in good condition on board the Ponce, which is docked in Durres. The other man was hit in the stomach and is in an Albanian hospital. His condition wasn't known, the official said.
The exercise was to have taken place Friday through Tuesday and was to involve units from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit out of Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, the Pentagon said Thursday.
KEYWORDS: SHOOTING INJURIES MARINES USS PONCE by CNB