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U.S. military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school that killed scores of children on Saturday but have not yet reached a final conclusion or completed their investigation, Reuters reported citing two U.S. officials.
Reuters reported that it was unable to determine more details about the investigation, including what evidence contributed to the tentative assessment, what type of munition was used, who was responsible or why the U.S. might have struck the school.
The girls' school in Minab, in southern Iran, was hit on Saturday during the first day of U.S. and Israeli attacks on the country. Iran's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, said the strike killed 150 students. Iranian authorities then said the death toll stood at 168.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Monday that the United States would not deliberately target a school.
The officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters, did not rule out the possibility that new evidence could emerge that absolves the U.S. of responsibility and points to another responsible party in the incident.