U.S. pilots attacked the Amiriyah air raid shelter in a residential suburb of Baghdad on Feb. 12, 1991, in the mistaken belief that it was a military command center, not a refuge for civilians. More than 400 people died, including 261 women and 52 children, according to Iraqi official figures.
The facility was a command center - the civilians were intentionally placed ont he upper three levels of the six-level facility. The bombing attack destroyed all levels, and radio intercepts showed a sudden dropoff in Iraqi military communications coinciding with the strike. But none of that matters, of course...
MM