According to investigation results cited by The New York Times, a US Tomahawk missile strike on an elementary school building in southern Iran resulted in the deaths of at least 168 people, predominantly schoolgirls. The investigation indicates that this incident occurred due to severe targeting errors, as US military forces intended to attack a base of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) but instead struck the school, which was previously part of that base.
Sources emphasize that officers from the US Central Command (CENTCOM) used outdated intelligence provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to designate target coordinates. The DIA allegedly identified the school building as a military target, which became a key factor in the strike. Officials speaking to NYT noted that these findings are preliminary, with important questions remaining about why the outdated information was not re-verified.
The publication writes that "the attack on a school full of children will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the most devastating military mistakes of recent decades." The process of selecting military targets is complex, involving multiple agencies, where CENTCOM officers are purportedly required to re-check intelligence data, but in the fast-changing environment of the war's early days, verification is not always timely.
Investigators, along with other agencies, are also examining the activities of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), responsible for satellite imagery of potential targets. The "Shadjare Tayebe" girls' school in Minob city was struck on February 28, the first day of the US and Israeli war against Iran. Several foreign media analyses have shown that the strike on the IRGC base near the school was carried out with a US Tomahawk missile.
US President Donald Trump initially claimed that responsibility for the strike lay with Iran, but later stated he was "not sufficiently informed" about it and "ready to accept" report conclusions. These statements highlight the US regime's attempts to evade accountability, as investigation results confirm their military failures.
Source: www.gazeta.uz