Human Rights Watch calls for war crimes probe after deadly attack on Iran girls’ school

ANKARA

Human Rights Watch has called for an investigation into a deadly attack on a primary school in southern Iran, saying the strike should be investigated as a possible war crime, media reports said Sunday.

The Feb. 28 attack reportedly killed at least 160 people, many of them schoolchildren, during a large wave attacks carried out across Iran as part of a US-Israeli military operation.

“Those responsible for an unlawful attack should be held to account, including prosecutions of anyone responsible for war crimes,” Sophia Jones, an open source researcher at the group’s Digital Investigations Lab, said, as reported by Al Jazeera.

Jones said a full investigation is necessary to determine whether those responsible were aware of the presence of a school.

“A prompt and thorough investigation is needed into this attack, including if those responsible should have known that a school was there and that it would be full of children and their teachers before midday,” the outlet quoted her as saying.

The strike on the school occurred on the first day of the current broader military campaign targeting sites across Iran.

An investigation by Al Jazeera found the targeting of the school was likely “deliberate.”

The New York Times also reported that the strike was “most likely” carried out by the United States.

On Saturday, asked if the US was responsible for the strike, US President Donald Trump said, “No, in my opinion, based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran,” but cited no evidence.

Human Rights Watch said those responsible for unlawful attacks must be held accountable following a thorough investigation, Al Jazeera reported.

Regional tensions have soared since the United States and Israel launched a large-scale attack on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 1,000 people to date, including Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, over 150 schoolgirls, and senior military officials.

Iran has retaliated with sweeping strikes targeting US bases, diplomatic facilities, and military personnel across the region, as well as multiple Israeli cities.