Afghan officials say an airstrike in Kabul killed at least 400 people and injured about 250 at a large drug rehabilitation hospital, calling it one of the deadliest such attacks in recent memory. The Taliban-run government said the strike hit the Omid facility, a 2,000-bed drug treatment center, shortly before 9 p.m. local time on Monday (1630 GMT). Large sections of the hospital were reportedly destroyed and fears of heavy casualties followed.
Pakistan denied the accusation, calling the reports false and saying its forces had struck military sites and “terrorist support infrastructure” in operations overnight across Kabul and Nangarhar. Islamabad’s Information and Broadcasting Ministry said the strikes were precise, aimed at storage of equipment and ammunition used against Pakistani civilians, and intended to avoid collateral damage. Officials described claims that a drug rehabilitation hospital was hit as misreporting designed to inflame sentiment and obscure support for cross-border militancy.
The alleged toll and the location prompted sharp condemnation from prominent Afghan cricketers. Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan said the reported civilian deaths were “deeply disturbing,” describing attacks on homes, schools or medical facilities as war crimes whether intentional or accidental. He called for United Nations and human rights investigations and decried what he called a disregard for human life, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan.
Former captain Mohammad Nabi mourned those killed at the hospital, writing that young patients and those waiting for them were “murdered” and recounting anguished family scenes. T20I captain Ibrahim Zadran said he heard a massive explosion and saw flames from the hospital, offering condolences to grieving families and urging justice.
A deputy Taliban spokesman, Hamdullah Fitrat, provided the timing and location of the strike and cited the casualty figures now being reported. Pakistan’s public messaging on X reiterated its denial and framed the operation as targeting militants’ logistics rather than civilian infrastructure.
The incident occurs against a backdrop of heightened Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions after months of cross-border strikes. Islamabad accuses militants of using Afghan soil to mount attacks on Pakistan; Kabul and the Taliban reject claims of providing safe haven and describe militancy as Pakistan’s internal problem. Fighting had eased at times under mediation by regional actors, including China, but clashes and strikes have resumed periodically.
