Preliminary investigation: US to blame for Iran girls' school attack after devastating military error
An ongoing military investigation has determined that the United States is responsible for the Tomahawk missile attack on the Shajarah Tayyebeh Girls' Elementary School in Minab, Iran, US officials and others familiar with the preliminary findings told The New York Times (NYT). Iranian officials said at least 175 people, mostly children, were killed in the attack.
The school located in the town of Minab is in the same area as buildings used by Iran's Revolutionary Guards navy, a prime target for US military strikes. The property was not always used as a school, and it is unclear when the school opened at the site, officials briefed on the investigation said.
An error in targeting
According to the investigation, the February 28 attack was the result of a targeting error by the US military, which was conducting strikes on an adjacent Iranian base, which the school building had previously been part of.
Officers at US Central Command created the target's coordinates for the attack using outdated data provided by the US Military Intelligence Agency, people briefed on the investigation said.
Officials stressed that those conclusions were preliminary and said the situation raised important questions about why information that turned out to be outdated had not been double-checked.
The NYT wrote that hitting a school full of children is without a doubt one of the most devastating military errors in decades. According to the publication, the general conclusion was expected, given that the US military is the only one in the conflict that uses Tomahawk missiles, but it casts a shadow over the US military operation in Iran.
Trump had tried to blame Iran: “No kind of accuracy”
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump tried to blame Iran for the attack.
“In my opinion, based on what I've seen, that thing was done by Iran (…), they're very inaccurate, as you've seen, with their munitions. They don't have any kind of accuracy. It was done by Iran,” Trump said, as quoted by The Guardian.
A visual analysis by the NYT shows that the school building was separated from the military base by a wall between 2013 and 2016. According to satellite images, watchtowers that once stood near the building were removed, three public entrances were opened to the school, the grounds were cleared, playgrounds were drawn on the asphalt, including a sports field, and the walls were painted blue and pink.
Code provided by the US Military Intelligence Agency labeled the school building as a military target when it was turned over to Central Command, according to people briefed on the investigation's preliminary findings.
Investigators still don't fully understand how outdated data was sent to Central Command or whether the Military Intelligence Agency had up-to-date information.
In response, the White House press secretary said that, “as The New York Times acknowledges in its own reporting, the investigation is still ongoing.”
