Get you up to speed: US Pentagon confirms involvement in strike on Iranian school killing children
A preliminary investigation from the Pentagon found that the US was behind the strike on Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school, which killed 175 children. The US Central Command has acknowledged using Tomahawk missiles in the vicinity of the school during the attacks.
A preliminary Pentagon investigation revealed that the US was responsible for a missile strike on an Iranian school, resulting in the deaths of 175 children, according to reports. Janina Dill, an expert on international law at Oxford University, stated that even if the strike were a misidentification, it would still constitute “a very serious violation of international law.”
The preliminary investigation by the Pentagon indicates that the US was responsible for the strike on Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school, which resulted in the deaths of 175 children, and the investigation is still ongoing according to the White House. US Central Command has confirmed the use of Tomahawk missiles in the region and acknowledges conducting strikes near the school, as outlined by the ongoing military operations in the area.
Pentagon finds US was behind deadly strike which killed more than 170 Iranian schoolchildren | News World
A preliminary investigation from the Pentagon found that the US was behind the strike on an Iranian school that killed 175 children.
The discovery comes days after President Donald Trump suggested Iran was behind the strike, which saw an American Tomahawk missile strike Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school.
The White House has not yet addressed the investigation’s findings, telling reporters in a press conference: ‘As The New York Times acknowledges in its own reporting, the investigation is still ongoing.’
Experts cited satellite image analysis and said the school was likely struck amid a quick succession of bombs dropped on the compound.
Mass graves were dug for the victims, many of them children (Picture: Getty)
Families in Minab, Iran, are still burying their children (Picture: Reuters)
Ball identified the munition as a Tomahawk cruise missile, which only the US is known to possess in this war. It is the first evidence of a munition used in the strike.
US Central Command has acknowledged using Tomahawk missiles in this war and even released a photo of the USS Spruance, part of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier group located within range of the school, firing a Tomahawk missile on February 28.
When asked by a reporter on Saturday whether the US was responsible for the blast, which killed mostly children, Trump responded, without providing evidence: ‘No, in my opinion, based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran.’
Janina Dill, an expert on international law at Oxford University, wrote that even if the strike was a misidentification – and the attacker believed that the school had been a part of the neighbouring IRGC base – it would still be ‘a very serious violation of international law’.
The US military has focused on naval targets and acknowledged strikes in the province, including one in the vicinity of the school.
How did the strike happen, and who are the victims?
Witnesses said the second strike appeared to target survivors and medics (Picture: Getty)
Witnesses from the Red Crescent, which responds to emergency situations, said children were killed in a ‘double tap’ strike – where, after an initial strike, a second is fired to kill survivors and medics.
‘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,’ a medic told Middle East Eye.
‘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.’
61 known victims of the strike
The Tehran Times published photos of the victims(Picture: Tehran Times)
Hana Dehqani, eight years old
Fatemeh Salari, 34 years old
Reza Habashian, seven years old
Arya Bahadori, nine years old
Ali Asghar Zaeri, eight years old
Zahra Bahrami, seven years old
Ahmad Soltani, eight years old
Hamed Par-ashegh-nezhad, seven years old
Fatemeh Yazdan-panah, a young girl, age unknown
Mahdis Nazari, seven years old
Athena Chamani-nezhad, six years old
Amirghasem Zaeri, seven years old
Fatemeh Dorazehi, 10 years old
Arad Ahmadizadeh, eight years old
Saman Karimzadeh, seven years old
Fatemeh Shahdadi, age unknown
Nadia Shahmiri, nine years old
Parham Ranjbari, nine years old
Mahmoud Gholamyani, 35 years old
Fatemeh Rahdar, 10 years old
Amir-Hassan Rasouli, eight years old
Zahra Behrouzi, eight years old
Mohammadhatam Raisi, 10 years old
Asna Raisi, 12 years old
Benyamin Jangjou, eight years old
Mohammad-Sadra Zarei, eight years old
Maryam Pazark, 10 years old
Liana Mohammadi, seven years old
Mandana Salari, 29 years old
Sara Shayesteh, five years old
Zoha Pasand, eight years old
Esra Zakeri, nine years old
Salma Zakeri, six years old
Fatemeh Taherifard, 29 years old
Zahra Ansari, seven years old
Fatemeh Fadavi, 10 years old
Mahna Zarei, two months old
Athareh Zarei, 10 years old
Alireza Zarei, nine years old
Mohammadreza Shahsavari, eight years old
Samira Basarde, 38 years old
Ehsan Saleminia, six years old
Fatemeh Zahra Karimi, seven years old
Zeynab Bahrami, 10 years old
Mohammad Shah-dousti, eight years old
Reza Barani, seven years old
Athena Ahmadzadeh, 10 years old
Khadijeh Darvishi, nine years old
Roqayyeh Karimi, 42 years old
Reza Ranjbar, six years old
Marzieh Bashiri-far, 38 years old
Mohammad-Mehdi Chegini, 10 years old
Mohammadian Bahrami, 17 years old
Ali-Akbar Karyani Pak, eight years old
Hananeh Mehdikhah, seven years old
Fereshteh Sangarzadeh, 44 years old
Mohammad-Ali Karyani Pak, seven years old
Parsa Mokhtari-nasab, 12 years old
Arina Arab-Kish, eight years old
Makan Nasiri, 12 years old
Esra Farahi-Zadeh, a young girl, age unknown
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