The Taliban government said at least 400 people were killed in a Pakistani airstrike on a drug treatment facility in Kabul. Pakistan denied the accusation, saying its armed forces struck military installations.
– Afghan officials said the strike hit the 2,000-bed rehabilitation facility at around 9 p.m. local time (1630 GMT), causing extensive damage and leaving hundreds wounded, in a major escalation of the weekslong cross-border fighting between the neighbors.
– The deputy spokesperson for the Taliban government, Hamdullah Fitrat, posted on X that the airstrike on the hospital killed at least 400 people, with hundreds more injured.
– “Rescue teams are currently at the scene working to control the fire and recover the remaining bodies of the victims,” Fitrat said.
– The attack came amid renewed and intensifying hostilities between the two neighbors over the past three weeks, which Pakistan has described as an “open war.“
– After months of escalating tensions and intense cross-border clashes, Pakistan declared open war on neighboring Afghanistan on February 27, accusing the Taliban of sheltering militant groups that plan attacks inside Pakistan, a claim Pakistan has denied.
– The Taliban government has denied any involvement or support for militant groups from its territory.