Amnesty International says security forces shot 34 of the 44 identified child victims of the state crackdown on protests with live ammunition in the heart, head or other vital organs; at least four were killed by metal pellets fired at close range; five died from injuries caused by beatings; one girl died after being struck on the head with a tear gas canister.According to foreign-based Iranian human rights group, at least 458 people have been killed in the crackdown by security forces, including 63 children and 29 women.The relatives of at least 13 child victims were subjected to coercion including “arbitrary arrest and detention, threats to bury the bodies of their loved ones in unidentified location, and threats to kill, rape, detain or otherwise harm bereaved parents and their surviving children”.According to Amnesty International, the authorities have consistently denied responsibility for the killing of at least 19 of the child victims, attributing 12 of these deaths on attacks by “hired terrorists” or “unknown persons”, three to suicidal or accidental falls from heights, one to a suicidal or accidental drug overdose, one to a dog bite, and one to a motorcycle accident and another to a stampede.Eighteen of those killed (40 percent) were Baluchis from Sistan and Baluchistan Province, and 10 (20 percent) were Kurds from Kurdistan, Kermanshah and West Azerbaijan provinces."