U.S. Concedes 1-2% of Libya Bombs Erred

The Pentagon, in an amended assessment of the April 15 air raids on Libya, acknowledged today that “1% to 2%” of the bombs dropped “impacted in civilian areas.”

The Pentagon said that three errant bombs that fell in the vicinity of the French Embassy in Tripoli “were probably” dropped by the one F-111 bomber that did not return from the raids.

It said two other errant bombs missed targets near a terrorist barracks compound in the city of Benghazi.

“Any other damage claimed by the Libyans, if actually true, most likely resulted from Libyan ordnance falling back to earth,” the report said.

Officials originally had denied or said they had no details on reports from Libya that American bombs had hit civilian areas.

Data on Body Sought

Robert Sims, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, also disclosed today the United States, working through the Belgian government, has requested more information from Libya on its claim to have recovered the body of one of the two airmen missing from the raid.

Sims said no reply had been received as yet. But he said the United States is prepared to request the return of the body on “humanitarian grounds” if, in fact, the remains were those of an American.

The Defense Department has never provided a detailed breakdown on the number of bombs dropped during the surprise night raids. Pentagon sources have disclosed, however, that more than 225 bombs of various types--500-pound, 750-pound and 2,000-pound--were used, totaling about 100 tons worth of ordnance.

Raids Called Success

The five known bombing misses disclosed today would thus appear to reflect about 2% of the total dropped during the raids.

Sims, Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger and other top officials have previously described the aerial raids, which were carried out by Air Force and Navy bombers, as an unqualified success. Sims said all five targets selected--three near Tripoli and two near Benghazi--were struck and damaged.

The three-page written assessment released today concludes: “The results of the strike met the established objectives. While complete destruction of each of the five targetted installations was never envisioned, all targets were hit and all targets received very appreciable damage.

“At the same time, collateral damage was held to a minimum. Only 1% to 2% of the bombs impacted in civilian areas. Of those bombs which did not impact in the target area, three were probably from one F-111 and it seems likely they impacted in the vicinity of the French Embassy.