ISTANBUL
At least 400 people were killed in an airstrike by Pakistan on a drug rehabilitation facility in Afghanistan’s capital on Monday, an Afghan official said Tuesday.
The Pakistani military “carried out an airstrike at approximately 9:00 p.m. (1630GMT) this evening on the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, a 2,000-bed facility dedicated to the treatment of drug addiction," Afghan government Deputy Spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said on the US social media company X’s platform.
He said that as a result of the attack, large sections of the hospital have been destroyed and "there are serious concerns about a high number of casualties."
Around 250 others have been reported injured, he said, adding that rescue teams are currently operating at the site.
Earlier, there were reports of airstrikes in Kabul, and the Afghan government accused Pakistan of violating Afghanistan’s airspace and bombing the rehabilitation center.
Pakistan's Information Ministry rejected Kabul's accusation regarding the attack and said that Islamabad "precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure including technical equipment storage and ammunition storage of the Afghan Taliban and Fitna al-Khawarij in Kabul and Nangarhar (province) that were being used against innocent Pakistani civilians."
"The post-strike detonation of stored ammunition being used by the master terror proxy also fully contradicts the fake claim," it added.
Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid condemned what he called "an act to be against all accepted principles and a crime against humanity."
Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have worsened after border tensions escalated last month, causing casualties and property damage.
Since late February, cross-border clashes have killed 107 people on the two sides, including 13 soldiers and five civilians in Pakistan, with one soldier still missing.
According to Kabul, 13 soldiers and 76 civilians have been killed in Afghanistan. The figure does not include fresh casualties claimed by Afghan authorities on Monday.
According to UN data, 185 civilian casualties, including 56 deaths from indirect fire and aerial attacks, were reported in Afghanistan between Feb. 26 and March 5.