Out of control

Oil refineries hit as death toll soars and fears grow that war will last for weeks

- BY CHRIS HUGHES

US President Donald Trump's war on Iran spiralled further into chaos and violence yesterday across the Middle East.

Tehran hit back against Israel, neighbouring Gulf states and targets critical to global oil and natural gas production, with the death toll soaring across the region.

At least 555 people have died in Iran since war began on Saturday, including 168 killed by a strike on a girls' school in the south of the country.

Iran was hit with more than 700 missiles and bombs in just 12 hours yesterday, the third day of the war, according to sources.

Israeli warplanes yesterday launched a fresh wave of bombings, also attacking property linked to terror network Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq and Jordan are among the nations that have been attacked by Iran in response.

Eleven Israeli civilians have died and six US service personnel have been killed, it was confirmed yesterday. In Lebanon, 31 people died from Israeli air strikes.

CREW

The US military said Kuwait's air defences had mistakenly shot down three US F-15 fighters during an Iranian attack but all six crew members survived.

The Gulf state of Qatar, which is home to a key US military base, said its airforce had shot down two Iranian Sukhoi Su-24 bombers.