Iran's soccer team honors victims of deadly missile strike on elementary school
ANTALYA, Turkey (AP) — Players held small backpacks as Iran's national soccer team used a match against Nigeria on Friday to honor the victims of a deadly missile strike on an elementary school. More than 165 people were killed, most of them children, when a Feb. 28 strike, likely launched by the U.
S. , hit the school in southern Iran. Neither the United States nor Israel has accepted responsibility for the attack, which has come under staunch criticism from the United Nations and human rights groups.
The U. S. military is investigating and has said it would never target civilians.
During the national anthem Friday, the Iranian team honored the memory of the slain children by placing small pink and purple school backpacks in front of them. Video of the ceremony also showed the players wearing black armbands in remembrance of those killed since the war began. The match was played in Antalya, southern Turkey.
Nigeria won 2-1 in a game that was a World Cup tuneup for Iran, ahead of the tournament being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. The Islamic Republic's team is scheduled to play three group-stage matches in June in the U. S.