Iran says US struck a wedding, killing at least five people
Iran accused the United States of striking a residential building where a wedding was taking place in the city of Kouhestak in the south of the country. According to the Iranian side, at least five people were killed, including a child.
As Al Jazeera English reports, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the house in Sirik County was struck early on Wednesday morning. State television channel Press TV also reported at least five deaths.
Casualty data
Sirīk County Governor Reza Shahidian told state broadcaster IRIB that at least 63 people were injured. According to him, 50 of the victims were women and children. All those injured were taken to a hospital in the nearby city of Minab, and their condition is assessed as stable.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
The semi-official Fars agency published testimony from a child who survived the explosion. According to the child, before arriving at the site, they heard the sound of fighter jets, and after the explosion, fragments of bricks, stones and cement struck their face and head. The child also said that civilians were present at the site.
Statements by the sides on the strikes
Reports of the incident emerged after the US military announced a new wave of strikes on Iranian military targets. It said it had attacked air defense facilities, radars, maritime assets, mine-laying facilities and capabilities, as well as communications nodes. According to the US military, the strikes were a response to attempts by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and US military personnel.
Iranian military officials said they had carried out retaliatory strikes on US bases in Jordan and Bahrain. Kuwait reported intercepting missiles, while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had downed a US MQ-9 drone with a new air defense system.
