Faulty US targeting intelligence is to blame for a tragic missile strike on an Iranian elementary school, a preliminary military investigation found Wednesday.
Iranian reports say that at least 175 people were killed, most of them children, following Feb. 28’s Tomahawk missile strike on the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school building in Minab, southeastern Iran.
Faulty US targeting intelligence is to blame for a deadly missile strike on an Iranian elementary school, a preliminary military investigation found. APA US military investigation has found that the strike was the result of a targeting mistake by the US, based on outdated data provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency, US officials told the New York Times.
The strike, on the opening day of the recent joint US-Israeli bombardment of Iran, was targeting an adjacent Iranian base.
The school building was previously a part of the military compound, the preliminary investigation has found.
Satellite images show the building housing the school was fenced off from the military base sometime between 2013 and 2016.
Watchtowers that once stood near the building were removed, and play areas, including a sports field, were painted on asphalt, satellite imagery shows.
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The walls were also painted pink and blue, satellite imagery shows, according to Times.
It is not clear precisely when a school opened on the site in Hormozgan province, on the northern shore of the Strait of Hormuz.
An illustration showing the impact of the airstrikes in the war against Iran by the Strait of Hormuz.
The Defense Intelligence Agency, which helps develop targets, labeled the school building as a military target in its “target coding” that it passed to Central Command, sources familiar with the investigation said.
It isn’t yet clear how outdated data was sent to Central Command, nor whether the Defense Intelligence Agency had updated information.
Unverified Iranian intel claims that at least 175 people were killed, most of them children, in Feb. 28’s Tomahawk missile strike on the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school building. APThe news comes two days after a senior Republican offered his apology on behalf of America for the school airstrike.
“It was terrible. We made a mistake,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told reporters on Capitol Hill.
The White House has said it is too early to draw conclusions from the investigation.
“As the New York Times acknowledges in its own reporting, the investigation is still ongoing,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
She also reiterated that President Trump would accept the findings of the investigation.
The White House has said it is too early to draw conclusions from the investigation. APOn Saturday, the President told reporters on Air Force One that he believed the airstrike on the school was carried out by Iran.
“They’re very inaccurate, as you know, with their munitions. They have no accuracy whatsoever. It was done by Iran,” President Trump added.
Iran is not believed to possess any Tomahawk missiles, which were developed in the United States and are only used by a handful of countries.
