At least four people were killed and more than 90 others wounded when a US airstrike hit a wedding reception in the southern Iranian coastal city of Kuhestak on Wednesday (local time). The US military said it had targeted an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps facility in the area. [AFP]
At least four people were killed and more than 90 others wounded when a US airstrike hit a wedding reception in the southern Iranian coastal city of Kuhestak on Wednesday (local time). The US military said it had targeted an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps facility in the area. [AFP]

A US military bomb that missed its intended target may have struck a home in southern Iran where a wedding was underway, killing and wounding more than 90 civilians, sources familiar with the operation said.

The Washington Post reported Sunday (local time), citing sources, that the Pentagon is investigating the incident and considers a stray bomb the most likely explanation.

US forces carried out an airstrike Tuesday against a communications complex in Kuhestak, a coastal city in southern Iran. The facility was located in a civilian area, but the US military assessed that Iranian forces were using it for some military operations, the Post reported.

According to sources with knowledge of the operation, a US Navy fighter jet dropped six bombs on the target. Five struck their intended mark, but one is believed to have gone astray.

Footage reviewed by the Post showed that the house — where a wedding reception was in progress at the time — was just 440 feet (about 134 meters) from the communications complex that was the airstrike's target.

Iranian authorities said the blast killed at least four people, including two women and children aged 4 and 16, and wounded more than 90 others.

US officials have ruled out the possibility that the house was deliberately targeted or confused with another objective. The communications complex was the only designated target in Kuhestak at the time, officials said.

"The US military, unlike the IRGC, never targets civilians," CENTCOM spokesperson Tim Hawkins said.

US officials are also examining whether an air defense missile may have fallen and detonated in midair, though weapons experts consider that scenario highly unlikely, the Post reported.

The strike was part of a series of US retaliatory airstrikes carried out in response to Iran's escalating threats against American forces and commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and elsewhere.

US officials conducted multiple rounds of target verification before the strike in an effort to minimize civilian casualties. But the possibility of a stray bomb is likely to intensify scrutiny of the military's targeting procedures and civilian protection protocols.

This is not the first time US airstrikes on Iran have resulted in civilian casualties. Earlier in the conflict, on Feb. 28, a US airstrike aimed at an Iranian military facility hit a nearby elementary school, killing at least 175 people, including children and teachers. The Post reported at the time that the military had relied on outdated targeting information.


betterj@heraldcorp.com