I think your interpretation - and the reporter's - is simplistic: The dead Force 17 commandos were in a closed space with their killers who had no way of determining if they had concealed weapons. Even badly wounded, unless there was a clear expression of surrender, these men were a deadly threat. That the fatal wound was to the head, from within a few feet, does not indicate they were "executed."
Force 17 ain't a bunch of heretic Seventh Day Adventists with their wives and kids next to them. These were soldiers. Second rate for the job they had, but that's no excuse.
That the fatal wound was to the head, from within a few feet, does not indicate they were "executed."Perhaps, but the fact that you are attempting to find a rationalization for the random nature of the act makes my "simplistic" point even stronger. The essence of my original post to ladyjane is contained in the Golda Meir quote.