PNN – Amnesty International has said in a new investigation that the United States is responsible for an attack on an elementary school in Iran that killed at least 170 people, most of them children. The organization called for accountability for the attack.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, the human rights group announced on Monday that a US-made Tomahawk missile was likely used in the attack on a school in the southern Irani city of Minab on February 28.
Tomahawk missiles are used exclusively by American forces in this conflict and are precision-guided missiles.
Amnesty International, using satellite imagery, video footage and interviews with experts, said its research showed that the school, along with dozens of other structures, had been “directly attacked.”
The organization said the tragedy demonstrates the failure of US forces to take necessary precautions to prevent harm to civilians during the attack, which constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law.
The agency added that the fact that the school building was directly targeted raises concerns that US forces may have relied on outdated intelligence and failed in their commitment to do whatever was necessary to confirm the military nature of the target.
Human rights advocates have cited the Minab attack as evidence of possible war crimes committed by Israel and the United States in their war against Iran—a war that legal experts said began late last month in violation of international law.
While Washington has said it is investigating the incident, the US president’s administration is facing growing calls for a full investigation and to ensure accountability for what happened.
UN experts have described the attack on the school as a “barbaric attack on children”, while Democratic US lawmakers have called on Donald Trump’s administration to provide the American people and Congress with clear answers about how and why this tragedy occurred.
As the US-Israeli war against Iran continues, experts have expressed concern over statements by senior US officials that appear to ignore international law.
Amnesty International said in a statement on Monday about the Minab school attack that those responsible for planning and executing the deadly attack must be held accountable.
Erika Guevara-Rosas, the group’s senior director of research, advocacy, policy and campaigns, said if Washington did not identify the building as a school and still went ahead with the attack; it would show gross negligence in the planning of the attack.
He said the disaster also points to a shameful intelligence failure by the US military and a serious violation of international humanitarian law.