Bombing of wedding home in southern Iran raises possibility of U.S. bomb misfire

(Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondent Lee Yu-mi = It has been determined that the bombing of a house where a wedding was held in southern Iran, causing civilian casualties, most likely occurred when a US bomb aimed at a nearby military facility missed its target.

The Washington Post (WP) reported on the 6th (local time), citing sources, that the U.S. Department of Defense (War Department) is weighing this possibility and investigating the exact circumstances.

On the 1st, the U.S. military conducted an airstrike targeting a communications complex in the southern Iranian coastal city of Kuhestak.

Although this complex was located in a civilian area, the U.S. military determined that the Iranian military was using it for some military operations, WP reported.

A source familiar with the operation said that of the six bombs dropped by U.S. Navy fighter jets toward this area, five hit the target, but one appears to have missed.

According to the video confirmed by WP, the house where the wedding was being held was approximately 440 feet (approximately 134 m) away from the targeted facility.

Iranian authorities previously announced that the explosion killed at least four people, including two women and children aged 4 and 16, and injured more than 90 people.

U.S. authorities reportedly are ruling out the possibility that the house in question was the target of an intentional attack or was confused with another target. It is said that the communication complex was the only place in Kuhestark that was designated as an attack target at the time.

Authorities are considering the possibility that an air defense missile fell from the air and caused this disaster, but weapons experts view this possibility as very low, WP reported.

“Unlike the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the U.S. military never targets civilians,” said Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command.

This US military airstrike was one of a series of retaliatory airstrikes carried out in response to Iran's heightened threat level against US troops and merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz and elsewhere.

The U.S. authorities are said to have gone through a process of confirming the target location in several stages to minimize civilian damage, but with the possibility of a mistaken bomb being raised this time, there is a possibility that controversy surrounding the U.S. military's target selection and procedures to prevent civilian damage will arise again.

On February 28, when the war with Iran began, a U.S. military airstrike targeting Iranian military facilities hit a nearby elementary school, killing at least 175 people, including children and teachers. WP previously reported that the cause of the accident was the US military's use of old targeting information at the time.