Afghanistan says more than 400 dead in Pakistan airstrike on Kabul hospital

Rescue Efforts Continue as Death Toll Rises in Kabul Hospital Airstrike

Rescue teams worked tirelessly Tuesday to recover bodies from the rubble of the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul, following what Afghan officials described as a devastating airstrike that killed more than 400 people. The attack marks a dramatic escalation in the ongoing conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan, now entering its third week.

Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani confirmed 408 deaths and 265 injuries from the Monday night strike. Local television footage showed security forces using flashlights to carry victims from the site while firefighters battled flames that engulfed sections of the 2,000-bed facility.

Pakistan has categorically denied targeting the hospital, insisting its military operations on Monday night were “precisely targeted” against military installations. Pakistan’s Information Ministry claimed the strikes hit Camp Phoenix, a former NATO base they described as a “military terrorist ammunition and equipment storage site,” and accused Afghan officials of spreading misinformation.

“No hospital, no drug rehabilitation center, and no civilian facility was targeted,” Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar stated, calling Afghanistan’s accusations “entirely baseless.”

The conflict has roots in Pakistan’s allegations that Afghanistan provides safe haven for militants who carry out attacks inside Pakistan, particularly the Pakistani Taliban—a group separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban who seized power in 2021. Afghan authorities have consistently denied these accusations.

Hamdullah Fitrat, Afghanistan’s deputy government spokesperson, reported via social media that the airstrike hit the Omid hospital around 9 p.m. local time, destroying large sections of the facility. The hospital, located near Kabul’s international airport, was renamed and expanded approximately a year ago from the Ibn Sina Drug Addiction Treatment Hospital as part of Taliban government efforts to combat drug addiction in Afghanistan.

The site’s proximity to the former NATO military base Camp Phoenix has complicated claims from both sides. The base previously housed U.S. forces training the Afghan National Army before being taken over by Taliban authorities in 2021.

“When we arrived here, everyone was buried under the rubble,” said rescue worker Allah Mohammad Farooq. “We then used a crane to pull them out. Most of the people were dead, and many are still trapped under the debris.”

Family members gathered at the site and local hospitals searching desperately for information about loved ones. Haji Najibullah, whose son and other relatives were patients at the facility, broke down in tears outside the bombed building. “We have no information about who is alive and who is buried under the rubble,” he said. “Only God knows who may have survived and who may be injured.”

To assist frantic relatives, Afghan authorities published a list of 500 people they confirmed had been at the treatment center and were safe.

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan called for an immediate ceasefire and expressed “deepest condolences to the families of those killed.” Thameen Al-Kheetan, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, called for an investigation and accountability “in line with international standards.” The UN reported that since fighting began in late February, 289 Afghan civilians, including 104 children, have been killed or injured, with tens of thousands displaced.

Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, speaking to foreign ambassadors in Kabul, insisted his country wanted peace but would defend itself if necessary. “The whole nation does not favor war,” he said in a ministry statement. “However, if war is imposed upon it, then with great courage it will prove its right to self-defense.”

The current escalation disrupted a Qatar-brokered ceasefire from October that had temporarily halted earlier clashes. Pakistan has now declared it is in “open war” with Afghanistan, raising international concerns about regional stability and the potential resurgence of militant groups like al-Qaida and the Islamic State in the area.

As rescue operations continue, the conflicting narratives from both countries have further complicated an already tense situation along their shared border, with no immediate signs of de-escalation on the horizon.