According to The New York Times, US forces used the new PrSM short-range ballistic missile for the first time during the opening days of the operation against Iran.

The newspaper reported that the strike hit a gym and a school in the city of Lamard in southern Iran, killing 20 people. The report also said the PrSM detonates above its target, scattering tungsten fragments over the area.

The New York Times said its journalists, together with weapons experts, concluded that the features of the weapon, as well as the nature of the blast and the damage, were consistent with the Precision Strike Missile, or PrSM.

The paper also analyzed video footage of one of the strikes on a residential area. According to its assessment, the object seen in flight had a distinctive silhouette matching the PrSM, before turning into a large fireball at the moment of detonation.

Another video, the newspaper said, suggests the explosion occurred in the air. Photographs from the scene also show holes that may have been caused by the missile’s striking elements. Journalists added that a facility of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is located near the gym, although it remains unclear whether that site was hit.