Was the Amiriyah shelter bombing a calculated military strike or a war crime?
In short: On February 13, 1991, two stealth bombers dropped 2,000-pound laser-guided bombs on a Baghdad shelter. While the U.S. military targeted it as a command center, hundreds of civilians were inside. The resulting tragedy remains a flashpoint in debates over intelligence, proportionality, and the laws of war.
The bombing of Public Shelter No. 25 in the Amiriyah neighborhood killed at least 408 civilians, many of whom were sleeping. The attack was carried out by two F-117 stealth bombers using GBU-27 Paveway III laser-guided bombs. The first bomb penetrated 3 meters of reinforced concrete before exploding, followed minutes later by a second bomb that followed the same path. The strike occurred at 04:30 during the early morning hours. The explosion caused significant damage to nearby structures, shattering windows and cracking foundations.
The U.S. military maintained the facility was a military command center, citing electronic signals and satellite imagery of vehicles and people. However, intelligence was contested; Brigadier General Buster Glosson reportedly found the evidence for the site's military use to be 'not worth a shit.' Additionally, Jane's Information Group noted that signals detected near the shelter actually originated from an antenna connected to a center 270 meters away.
The humanitarian fallout was horrific. Survivors and journalists reported seeing bodies fused together and layers of melted fat on the water. While the White House suggested Iraq used civilians as human shields, others argue civilians sought refuge there because it was one of the few places with electricity left after U.S. strikes on infrastructure. Human Rights Watch characterized the event as a war crime, noting that the U.S. had accepted parts of the 1977 Additional Protocol I as customary international law, which requires balancing military advantage against civilian casualties. The victims' handprints were found etched into the concrete ceiling. Many of those killed died instantly, though others perished due to boiling water from a ruptured tank.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Amiriyah shelter bombing
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