(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) The US is responsible for bombing an elementary school in Minab, southern Iran, during the opening hours of the US-Israeli war against Iran on February 28, a strike that massacred 175 children, the vast majority being young schoolgirls and schoolboys, according to a preliminary US military investigation.
People briefed on the investigation told The New York Times that it appeared that US Central Command had created target coordinates for the strike using outdated information from the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Photo released by Iran of graves being dug for the children killed at the Minab school.
The school building was previously part of a nearby Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) base but was separated and turned into a school sometime between 2013 and 2016, meaning the US military may have used information that was over a decade old.
The US military has been using Artificial Intelligence to help with targeting, but the Times report said it appeared the strike on the school was likely the result of “human error.”
The Times said it reviewed satellite imagery showing that watchtowers that once stood near the building had been removed, three public entrances were opened to the school, ground was cleared, play areas, including a sports field, were painted on asphalt, and walls were painted blue and pink.
Middle East Eye reported that the school was hit by two separate strikes and that the second one hit children who were sheltering in a prayer hall after their parents were killed following the first attack. “When the first bomb hit the school, one of the teachers and the principal moved a group of students to the prayer hall to protect them,” an Iranian Red Crescent medic told MEE.
“The principal called the parents and told them to come and pick up their children. But the second bomb hit that area as well. Only a small number of those who had taken shelter survived,” the medic added.
So far, there’s been no confirmation or acknowledgement from US officials that the school was struck twice. The Times report said that based on its analysis, the IRGC base was struck again within two hours of the initial strikes.
It’s been clear since the day after the bombing that the US was likely responsible for the massacre at the school, and footage shows what appears to be a US-made Tomahawk missile striking the IRGC base during the attack. But President Trump has tried to pass the blame onto Iran and even falsely claimed that Iran has Tomahawk missiles, though when pressed on his claim, the president admitted he “didn’t know enough about it.”
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth wouldn’t back up Trump’s claim that Iran was responsible but has also refused to comment on the massacre besides saying it’s “under investigation.” Throughout the US and Israeli bombing campaign, Hegseth has said the US military is operating without “stupid rules of engagement” and “without mercy.”
This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.
