Intelligence Held Not at Fault in Fatal Raid

Twelve Israeli navy commandos killed in a botched raid in Lebanon stumbled into a random ambush and were not victims of an intelligence failure, an internal army report found. There had been media speculation that the Sept. 4 deaths were the result of poor intelligence information concerning the target or a leak to Lebanese guerrillas about the mission. But the report by a committee of inquiry said no one was to blame. In the raid, the commandos landed on the Lebanese shore about midnight, moved through orchards and were crossing a road when two explosions went off, killing several soldiers. A few minutes later, a demolition charge carried by an officer detonated, killing several more troops. The commandos were then attacked by Lebanese guerrillas and soldiers.