Parents mourn children killed in Iranian school attack

Six months after an attack devastated a school in Minab, Iran, the building stands as a ruin, a stark memorial surrounded by portraits of the 155 victims, most of them children. The school's collapsed walls and twisted steel are now a grim backdrop to the faces of those lost.

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I couldn't breathe. I went over and sat in a corner. I completely broke down and could barely stand.

Parents continue to grapple with unimaginable grief. Masoumeh Zakeri, 44, described how her nine-year-old daughter, Motahreh, was among those killed. She was identified only by her earrings and bracelet. Yaghoub Yazdanpanah, a Persian literature teacher, recounted the panic of receiving calls from his wife and rushing to the school. He arrived to find men collecting body parts and a girl trapped under concrete.

"I couldn't breathe. I went over and sat in a corner. I completely broke down and could barely stand," he told AFP, describing the scene where his six-year-old daughter, Fatemeh, was found later that day. Another father, Javad Shahrjou, spoke of the aftermath of a second missile strike that threw him and his motorcycle off balance. Entering the schoolyard, he saw children's remains scattered.

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He was completely charred.

His seven-year-old son was found three days later, identified by his underwear, socks, and shoes. "He was completely charred," Shahrjou said. Iranian authorities stated the attack involved two American Tomahawk missiles, but neither Iran nor Israel has officially claimed responsibility for the strike.

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On her earrings and bracelet.