Afghanistan
Afghanistan claims Pakistani airstrike on Kabul hospital left 400 killed, Islamabad denies
At least 400 people were killed and around 250 others injured in an alleged Pakistani airstrike on a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Tuesday, according to Taliban officials.
Afghanistan’s deputy government spokesperson, Hamdullah Fitrat, said the targeted facility — the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital — was a 2,000-bed centre dedicated to treating drug addiction.
The strike marks a sharp escalation in tensions between the two neighbouring countries, following weeks of cross-border clashes and aerial attacks.
Fitrat said the airstrike occurred at approximately 9:00 pm local time. In a post on X, he stated, “The Pakistani military regime carried out an airstrike at around 9:00 PM on the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, a facility dedicated to the treatment of drug addiction.”
He added that large sections of the hospital were destroyed, raising concerns over a high number of casualties.
"Unfortunately, the death toll has so far reached 400, while around 250 others have been reported injured,” Fitrat said, noting that rescue teams are continuing efforts to recover bodies from the site.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the attack, stating that innocent civilians, including patients undergoing treatment, were among those killed. “Indeed, we belong to God and to Him we shall return,” he wrote on X.
The Pakistani military regime has once again violated Afghanistan’s airspace and targeted a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, resulting in the death and injury of addicts who were undergoing treatment.
— Hamdullah Fitratحمدالله فطرت (@FitratHamd) March 16, 2026
We strongly condemn this crime and consider such an act to be against…
Pakistan, however, denied targeting any hospital, asserting that its forces carried out precision strikes on Afghan Taliban military installations on Monday night.
Security sources told Dawn News that Pakistani forces destroyed technical support infrastructure and ammunition storage facilities at two locations in Kabul. In Nangarhar province, four additional Taliban-linked sites were reportedly targeted.
The sources further claimed that logistics hubs, ammunition depots, and technical infrastructure linked to these installations were destroyed. They also alleged that a drone assembly workshop, operational headquarters, and weapon stockpiles were hit in both Kabul and Nangarhar.
According to these sources, drones assembled at the targeted sites were built using components sourced from India and Israel.
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