Elna Abdullah Hussein Nia

Elna Abdullah Hussein Nia ? also known by the shortened name Elena ? was an 11-year-old Iranian girl living with her family in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Her family was part of Kuwait's large Iranian expatriate community, which makes up a significant proportion of the country's foreign population.

On the evening of 3 March 2026, as waves of Iranian retaliatory drone and missile strikes continued across the Gulf in response to the US-Israeli offensive on Iran that had begun on 28 February, the family decided to return to their apartment after several nights of sheltering in the building's basement. The attacks had seemed to slow, and Elna called her father approximately two hours before the incident to say goodnight. She told him she had eaten dinner and was going to sleep.

At around midnight, shrapnel from an Iranian drone struck the roof of the family's second-floor apartment in the Capital Governorate of Kuwait City, hitting Elna directly as she slept. Her younger sister, who was sleeping in the same room, sustained minor injuries. Their mother was unharmed.

Emergency medical teams responded immediately. Resuscitation was performed in the ambulance during the journey to Al-Amiri Hospital, and efforts continued for nearly half an hour after arrival. She died from her injuries.

Kuwait's Minister of Health, Dr. Abdullah Al Sanad, confirmed her death in a statement to the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). Four members of her family were placed under medical observation at the hospital.

Elna was buried at the Sulaibikhat Cemetery in western Kuwait City, attended by her father and mourners including some of her young school friends, who wore white sweatshirts bearing her photograph. Her father told journalists he had been deeply moved by the outpouring of sympathy and solidarity from Kuwaiti society.

The deaths of children such as Elna ? an Iranian child killed by Iranian weaponry while living abroad ? drew wide international commentary on the indiscriminate nature of the strikes. The Gulf Cooperation Council condemned Iran's attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait as "dangerous acts of aggression" threatening regional security.

Elna Abdullah Hussein Nia was killed during Minab School Strike, Iran ? 2026 (ongoing since February 2026). The conflict is ongoing. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.

Among those documented in the same conflict: Hana Dehqani, Fatemeh Salari, Reza Habashian, Arya Bahadori.

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