Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities said a Pakistani airstrike on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul killed 408 people and wounded 265, sharply escalating tensions between the two countries, while Islamabad rejected the claim and said it targeted militant infrastructure.
Taliban officials said the strike hit a state-run facility late Monday evening, describing it as a 2,000-bed drug treatment centre known as Omid Hospital.
Pakistan denied targeting a hospital, calling the allegations “false and misleading,” and said its forces carried out “precise strikes” against what it described as military and militant-linked sites.
“The visible secondary detonations after the strikes clearly indicate the presence of large ammunition depots,” Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.
Residents and witnesses in Kabul said the site struck was Camp Phoenix, a former NATO base that had been converted into a drug rehabilitation centre years ago and commonly referred to as Omid Camp, or “camp of hope.”
Taliban officials said most of those killed were civilians undergoing treatment, including drug addicts housed at the facility. Casualty figures could not be independently verified.
The strike is part of a broader escalation in fighting between the two neighbours, whose relations have deteriorated since last month amid cross-border attacks and airstrikes.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused Kabul of harbouring militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistan, an allegation the Taliban deny, insisting militancy is an internal Pakistani issue.
At the scene, witnesses described widespread destruction, with buildings reduced to debris and fire damage visible across the compound.
“The whole place caught fire. It was like doomsday,” said Ahmad, a survivor receiving treatment at the centre. “My friends were burning in the fire, and we could not save them all.”
Afghan authorities said the dead and wounded were transported to hospitals across Kabul, though details on recovery operations remain unclear.
The Norwegian Refugee Council said its staff observed large numbers of casualties.
“We found hundreds of civilians dead and injured,” the aid group said, adding that civilian infrastructure must not be targeted.
The latest escalation comes despite diplomatic efforts led by regional powers, including China, to ease tensions.
Beijing urged both sides to exercise restraint and return to dialogue, while India condemned the strike, calling it particularly alarming as it occurred during the holy month of Ramadan.
The renewed violence comes just days before Eid al-Fitr, raising concerns of further escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbours.