type: timeline_event
On March 16, 2026, Amnesty International released a detailed forensic report declaring that the February 28 triple-tap airstrike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' school in Minab, Iran, constituted a potential war crime requiring formal investigation. The organization documented at least 168 deaths, including more than 100 children, making it the single deadliest incident involving civilian casualties in Operation Epic Fury.
The term "triple-tap" referred to the strike pattern: initial munitions hit the school, a second strike targeted first responders who arrived at the scene, and a third struck the area again as additional rescuers attempted to reach survivors. Amnesty's investigators found fragments of Tomahawk cruise missiles at the site clearly marked "Made in USA," directly linking the strike to American-manufactured munitions. The organization noted that the triple-tap pattern indicated deliberate targeting of rescue operations, which would constitute a violation of international humanitarian law.
The Pentagon maintained that the school had been used as an IRGC command facility and that secondary explosions indicated the presence of stored munitions, though it acknowledged civilian casualties and said the incident was under review. Amnesty rejected this characterization, noting that satellite imagery showed no military activity at the site in the weeks before the strike, and that the building was an active school with enrollment records for over 400 students.
The Minab school strike became the most prominent symbol of civilian harm in the Iran war, drawing comparisons to incidents in Yemen and Gaza that had prompted international investigations. Human rights organizations called on the International Criminal Court to open a preliminary examination, though the United States is not a party to the Rome Statute.