HAITI . . . U.S. HITS MILITIA STRONGHOLD

U.S. soldiers raided the Port-au-Prince headquarters of the hated Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haitia (FRAPH), and several other locations, in the most dramatic strike yet against the ruling junta's recalcitrant militiamen. The move came hours after pro-junta Haitians in the southwestern town of Les Cayes shot and wounded a U.S. Special Forces soldier. After the raid -- in which about 100 U.S. Army personnel detained at least 10 armed Haitians, including a woman who packed a pistol in her bra -- a crowd of club-wielding pro-democracy demonstrators surged into the compound, trashing and smashing anything within reach. The U.S. soldiers let the frenzy continue for an hour before dispersing the crowd. The American commander in Haiti, Lt. Gen. Hugh Shelton, said the detainees would be released into custody of the legitimate Haitian government when exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is returned to power later this month.