Hundreds killed in Pakistani attack on rehabilitation hospital in Afghanistan, Taliban say

The Taliban in Afghanistan say a Pakistani military airstrike on a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul killed more than 400 people and injured 250 others.

The attack occurred around 9 p.m. on Monday at a facility located in Kabul Police District 9, according to Taliban officials.

“The Pakistani military regime bombed a 2,000-bed drug rehabilitation hospital called ‘Omid’. Much of the hospital has been destroyed,” Taliban spokesman Hamdullah Firtat said in X.

“Unfortunately, the number of martyrs (dead) has so far reached 400 people and up to 250 more have been injured.”

Sharafat Zaman, spokesman for the Taliban’s Ministry of Public Health, told News themezone that the death toll could rise as rescuers are still pulling bodies from the rubble.

Videos shared with News themezone by the Taliban show the hospital on fire as firefighters and rescue teams try to extinguish the flames and transport the dead and injured on stretchers.

Muhammad Ashraf, who worked at a nearby hospital, told News themezone he heard several gunshots followed by two loud explosions.

Pakistan denied the Taliban’s allegation that they attacked a medical facility as “false claims”, saying that “secondary detonations visible after the attacks clearly indicate the presence of large ammunition depots” and that it was carrying out “precision airstrikes” against Afghan Taliban military facilities in Kabul and Nangarhar provinces.

“Pakistan Armed Forces successfully carried out precision airstrikes on the night of March 16… against the terrorism of the Afghan Taliban regime that sponsors military installations in Kabul and Nangarhar.” Attaullah Tarar, Minister of Information and Broadcasting of Pakistan, in a social media post.

“Technical support infrastructure and ammunition storage facilities in two locations in Kabul were effectively destroyed,” he said.

Videos shared with News themezone did not appear to show secondary explosions or gunshots after the initial explosion.

Omid Hospital, which translates as “Hope,” is a huge rehabilitation center for addicts located in a former NATO camp. Thousands of mostly young Afghans struggling with addiction, which is one of the country’s worst social crises, are brought to the center for treatment.

The attacks come after weeks of intense cross-border attacks between Afghanistan and Pakistan that began in late February. Pakistan has He said he is in an “open war” with Afghanistan and attack terrorist groups.

Tensions escalated to the point that Pakistani planes carried out strikes in Kabul and other parts of the country. Afghanistan said Islamabad was violating its sovereignty and in response the Taliban attacked Pakistani cities with drones.

Last week, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said at least four civilians were killed and 14 wounded following an airstrike in Kabul.

An earlier ceasefire brokered by Qatar broke down in February. On Monday, China said its special envoy had been traveling between Kabul and Islamabad to mediate between the two sides and urged an immediate ceasefire.

“China hopes that Afghanistan and Pakistan will remain calm and exercise restraint, engage face-to-face as soon as possible, achieve a ceasefire as soon as possible, and resolve differences and disputes through dialogue. China will continue to facilitate reconciliation and ease tensions.” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a tweet.

Pakistan claimed that armed groups, such as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, are attacking Pakistani territory from Afghanistan, where they have been given safe haven. Afghanistan denies the Pakistani allegation and says the TTP is Pakistan’s internal issue that is not relevant to the Taliban.