Untested US missile hit school, sports hall in South Iran on Day 1 of war: Report
Newly deployed US Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM), untested in combat, struck a sports hall and school near a military compound in Iran's city of Lamerd on February 29, killing at least 21.
A newly developed US missile, untested in combat, struck civilian sites near a military compound in southern Iran on the first day of the Middle East conflict, hitting a sports hall and an elementary school close to a military compound in the city of Lamerd, according to experts and visual evidence analysed by The New York Times.
Local officials reported that at least 21 people were killed in Lamerd from the strikes.
The February 28 attacks in Lamerd targetted a sports hall and an adjacent elementary school near an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) facility. Videos analysed by The Times showed one strike in a residential area about 900 feet from the hall and school, capturing the missile in flight before it exploded midair in a massive fireball.
Another clip from a nearby security camera showed a blast above the sports hall and school. Photographs of the aftermath reveal pockmarked walls, consistent with small tungsten pellets scattered by the weapon.
Weapons specialists identified the missile as the short-range ballistic Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), designed to detonate above targets and disperse tungsten projectiles. The PrSM completed prototype testing only last year.
On March 1, US Central Command released a launch video from the conflict's first 24 hours, and Admiral Brad Cooper later confirmed the missile had been used in combat for the first time.
Experts cautioned it is difficult to determine whether the Lamerd strikes were deliberate, the result of a design flaw, or a targeting error.
Archival satellite images indicated that the school and sports hall have been physically separate from the IRGC compound for at least 15 years, though their precise connection to the facility remained unclear.
Other munitions were also used that day: a US Tomahawk cruise missile struck a school in Minab, several hundred miles away, killing 175 people. Analysts ruled out the guided rocket GMLRS-ER as the Lamerd weapon due to its limited 93-mile range, far shorter than the PrSM's 400-mile capability.
There may have been additional targets. A verified video showed a third plume of smoke near the same time as the Lamerd strikes. Local media suggested a cultural center was hit, though independent confirmation is still not available.
The strikes are part of broader operations by a US-Israeli coalition, focused on southern Iran during the initial phase of the war. Footage of the missile's flight and explosions was shared by Fars, a semi-official Iranian news agency, and appeared to originate from security cameras.
A newly developed US missile, untested in combat, struck civilian sites near a military compound in southern Iran on the first day of the Middle East conflict, hitting a sports hall and an elementary school close to a military compound in the city of Lamerd, according to experts and visual evidence analysed by The New York Times.
Local officials reported that at least 21 people were killed in Lamerd from the strikes.
The February 28 attacks in Lamerd targetted a sports hall and an adjacent elementary school near an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) facility. Videos analysed by The Times showed one strike in a residential area about 900 feet from the hall and school, capturing the missile in flight before it exploded midair in a massive fireball.
Another clip from a nearby security camera showed a blast above the sports hall and school. Photographs of the aftermath reveal pockmarked walls, consistent with small tungsten pellets scattered by the weapon.
Weapons specialists identified the missile as the short-range ballistic Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), designed to detonate above targets and disperse tungsten projectiles. The PrSM completed prototype testing only last year.
On March 1, US Central Command released a launch video from the conflict's first 24 hours, and Admiral Brad Cooper later confirmed the missile had been used in combat for the first time.
Experts cautioned it is difficult to determine whether the Lamerd strikes were deliberate, the result of a design flaw, or a targeting error.
Archival satellite images indicated that the school and sports hall have been physically separate from the IRGC compound for at least 15 years, though their precise connection to the facility remained unclear.
Other munitions were also used that day: a US Tomahawk cruise missile struck a school in Minab, several hundred miles away, killing 175 people. Analysts ruled out the guided rocket GMLRS-ER as the Lamerd weapon due to its limited 93-mile range, far shorter than the PrSM's 400-mile capability.
There may have been additional targets. A verified video showed a third plume of smoke near the same time as the Lamerd strikes. Local media suggested a cultural center was hit, though independent confirmation is still not available.
The strikes are part of broader operations by a US-Israeli coalition, focused on southern Iran during the initial phase of the war. Footage of the missile's flight and explosions was shared by Fars, a semi-official Iranian news agency, and appeared to originate from security cameras.
