Taliban Claims Pakistan Airstrike on Kabul Hospital Killed 400; Latter Denies

Afghanistan’s deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said early Tuesday that the death toll from a Pakistani airstrike in Kabul has risen to 400 after a strike allegedly hit a hospital treating drug users in the Afghan capital late Monday.

In a post on X, Fitrat said the strike destroyed large sections of the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, a 2,000-bed facility, and left about 250 people injured. He added that rescue teams were working to control fires at the site and recover bodies from the rubble.

“The Pakistani military regime carried out an airstrike at approximately 9:00 PM this evening on the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, a 2,000-bed facility dedicated to the treatment of drug addiction. As a result of the attack, large sections of the hospital have been destroyed,” Fitrat wrote.

Earlier, Afghanistan’s Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman said more than 200 people had been killed in the attack. “All parts of the drug treatment hospital had been destroyed,” Zaman said during a television interview with local media that was later shared online.

Afghanistan’s government spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid also condemned the strike, calling it a violation of the country’s territory. “Most of those killed and wounded were patients undergoing treatment at the facility,” Mujahid said in a post on X.

Local television footage showed firefighters battling flames rising from the rubble of the damaged building, while videos circulating on social media appeared to show large explosions and thick smoke rising into the sky following the strikes.

Pakistan rejected the accusations, saying its airstrikes targeted militant infrastructure rather than civilian locations. Pakistan’s Ministry of Information said the strikes “precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure,” including equipment storage and ammunition facilities used by Afghan Taliban and Pakistan-based militants.

The ministry described claims that a hospital was hit as “false and misleading.”

Security officials cited by Pakistani newspaper Dawn said the military targeted Taliban infrastructure at two sites in Kabul and four installations in Nangarhar Province, including logistics hubs, ammunition depots, and a drone assembly workshop.

The operation was conducted as part of a military campaign called Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, launched by Pakistan on February 26 after Islamabad accused Afghan Taliban forces of carrying out “unprovoked firing” across the border.

Today’s reported strike came hours after Afghan officials said Pakistani and Afghan forces exchanged fire along their shared border. Authorities in southeastern Khost Province said mortar shells fired from Pakistan struck villages overnight, killing four people, including two children, and injuring several others.

The cross-border clashes mark some of the deadliest fighting between the two neighbours in years.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution extending the mandate of the UN political mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, for three months and called on Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government to strengthen efforts against terrorism.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of providing safe haven to militant groups, including the Pakistani Taliban, which carry out attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul has denied the accusations.

Fighting between the two countries began on February 26 after cross-border strikes triggered retaliatory attacks from both sides.