World Notes

The undisputed facts were ugly enough: guerrillas of the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (F.M.L.N.) last week shot down a U.S. military helicopter, killing its three-man crew. But determining just how and when the Americans died proved difficult.

The helicopter was hit by rebel ground fire about 75 miles east of San Salvador. The F.M.L.N. said all three crewmen died from injuries suffered when the chopper crashed. But area residents claim that the rebels ordered them to drag out two of the Americans, alive and begging for water. At first they said both died for lack of medical attention, but later suggested they were shot. In Washington officials said autopsy reports showed that two of the crew were killed with gunshots to the head. Both sides have motives for fudging the facts. The rebels do not want to upset peace talks with the Salvadoran government, and the Bush Administration is trying to rally support for its proposal to give El Salvador $42.5 million in new military aid.