US checks on rifle items reported found in Beirut

The Reagan administration is trying to determine whether cartridge boxes for US-made M-16 weapons were found in a Lebanese refugee camp where civilians were massacred, a State Department official said.

Spokesman Alan Romberg said the investigation is part of a continuing review of the use of US weapons by Israel over the past several months and has not changed its scope because of the massacres. The New York Times reported that M- 16 cartridge boxes were found in one of the refugee camps. The report raised questions as to whether the Israelis supplied the Phalangists with US weapons. The US policy on arms sales is that they be used for defensive purposes only.