By 1978, PLAN's presence had attracted the attention of the South African Defence Force. Executing a massive external raid (dubbed "Operation Reindeer") involving paratroops of the 44 Parachute Regiment supported by bomber and strike aircraft, South Africa briefly occupied Cassinga on 4 May 1978. The assault, which left sixty Cuban military advisers and over five hundred South West African exiles dead, is now called Battle of Cassinga has been subject to international controversy. Angolan officials subsequently flew in a team of international journalists who photographed mass graves on site, verifying several bodies as women and children in civilian dress. Indignant at claims that its personnel had committed a war crime, the SADF continued to maintain that the defenders were uniformed PLAN combatants. The Angolan government counted 624 dead and 611 injured civilians as well as combatants. Among the dead were 167 women and 298 teenagers and children. Since many of the combatants were female or teenagers, and many combatants did not wear uniforms, the exact number of civilians among the dead could not be established. A secret report to the SWAPO Central Committee listed 582 dead and 400 wounded.