Debris from Iranian drone strike ravages special needs schools in Sulaimani

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Falling debris from a drone fired by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) - allegedly targeting a Kurdish opposition group - rained down on Sulaimani’s Bakhtiyari neighborhood on April 6, causing severe damage to two educational centers for vulnerable children.

One of the affected centers is Runaki Institute for the Blind, which accommodates 28 students with sight impairment. The other is Awat Institute for Brain Education, which has about 45 students with intellectual disabilities.

Both centers have endured significant damages, but for the students, the impact has been personal and devastating.

“I ask for the reparation of our school so that we could return to learning,” one of the students with sight impairment told Rudaw on April 16.

Meanwhile, a student at Awat institute said, “I consider this place my home. Just please fix it for us.”

During the six-week war with Israel and the US, Tehran and its “Axis of Resistance" within Iraq fired at least 700 projectiles toward the Kurdistan Region under the justification of attacking US interests and Kurdish opposition groups, ultimately killing over a dozen - including at least eight civilians - and injuring more than 90, according to Rudaw’s tracking.

At the time of the drone impact, no children were in the centers as in-class lessons had been suspended due to the war that started on February 28 - before a fragile ceasefire was announced between Washington and Tehran on April 8.

“They were waiting for the situation to calm down so that they could return to their classes,” said Daban Ibrahim, instructor at Runaki’s institute.

A parent of one of the children in Runaki institute spoke about his daughter’s constant demands to return to the classroom during the war.

“She used to call me frequently when I was at the workplace,” said one of the parents, adding that her child was weeping because she missed her classmates and teachers.

For these children, school is more than a classroom - it is a sanctuary. Following the strikes, the centers were forced to transition to online learning, a format that struggles to accommodate their specific needs.

One student explained the frustration of this shift: “We used to have a physical map that the teacher would use to explain things. Now, with online classes, it is much more difficult for us to understand.”

Zhelwan Adil, the general director of Social Monitoring and Development in Sulaimani, told Rudaw that the Runaki Center for the Blind incurred 81,000,000 Iraqi Dinars (approximately $62,000 USD) in damages while Awat Institute for Brain Education suffered 46,659,000 Iraqi Dinars (approximately $36,000 USD), according to their estimates.

Braille displays and screen magnifiers among the destroyed equipment, said Adil, adding that some children graduating from their schools are pursuing Ph.D programs in Europe.