US may have struck Iranian girls’ school after using outdated data, sources say

A strike on an Iranian girls’ school that killed scores of children may be the result of the US use of outdated targeting data, two sources familiar with the matter tell Reuters, providing new details about what would rank among the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of US conflicts.

Reuters first reported last Thursday that an ongoing, internal US military investigation showed US forces were likely responsible for the strike on the girls’ school in Minab.

Video surfaced that experts say appears to show a US Tomahawk missile striking the area. But exactly how the tragedy unfolded has remained unclear, and the Pentagon has declined to comment, saying the investigation is ongoing.

The strike, during the first day of US and Israeli attacks on Iran, killed 150 students, according to Iran’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Ali Bahreini.

According to archived copies of the school’s official website, the school is adjacent to a compound operated by ​the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the military force that reports to Iran’s supreme leader.

One of the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said officials responsible for creating targeting packages appeared to have used out-of-date intelligence. The second source confirmed that out-of-date intelligence appears to have been used.

In response to a request for comment, the Pentagon says that “the incident is under investigation.” The possible use of outdated targeting data was first reported by The New York Times earlier.

It is unclear how old data ended up being used for the strike and what, if any other factors, might be responsible for the error.

The investigation is still ongoing, and it is not clear when a conclusion will be reached.