Survivor of Iran school strike recounts losing brother and mother to state media

A 10-year-old girl, who Iranian state media said survived a deadly strike on an elementary school in southern Iran, said she lost her older brother and mother in the bombing.

The girl, identified by semi-official news agency Fars only as Nila, spoke on camera. Wearing a black headscarf, the girl, who had a visible black eye, said she was at the school when she heard what sounded like “strong wind.” All the teachers screamed, she said, and ran away. “I got scared and went into the classroom with my teacher. After that, I fainted,” Nila recounted. “A big stone had fallen on my back. When I regained consciousness, a man came to lift it, but he couldn’t. A few people came and they couldn’t lift it either. I lifted one corner of it a little myself and managed to get out.”

Fars said the girl’s 11-year-old brother Hami Sadeghi and mother Neda Solhizadeh, who was a teacher, died in the incident.
Three airstrikes hit Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in the town of Minab on Saturday, killing 168 people, according to the town’s mayor. Many of them were children.

The U.S. military said it was investigating the incident while the Israeli military has so far declined to comment.