Kabul: Pakistani airstrike on a major addiction treatment hospital in Kabul killed more than 400 people and injured at least 250 others, Taliban officials and local media reported, in what could become one of the deadliest incidents in the Afghan capital.
According to officials of the Taliban-led government, the strike targeted the 2,000-bed Umid addiction treatment hospital in Kabul at around 9 p.m.
Taliban Deputy spokesman Mullah Hamdullah Fitrat said that the attack caused extensive destruction across the facility.
“Pakistan’s military regime bombed the 2,000-bed addicts’ treatment hospital named Umid, destroying much of the hospital and raising fears of even higher casualties than estimated,” Fitrat wrote on X, adding that the number of deaths had reached around 400 while as many as 250 others were wounded.
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid also condemned the incident in a post on X, saying the victims were largely vulnerable civilians.
“Innocent civilians and addicts who were mostly killed last night at the 2,000-bed hospital due to the bombing by (Pakistani military circles). Indeed, we belong to God and to Him we shall return,” he wrote.
Officials from Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health said emergency teams rushed to the scene overnight as rescuers searched through damaged sections of the hospital. Ministry spokesman Sharaf Zaman said at least 170 wounded patients were initially transferred to nearby medical facilities.
“Rescue operations are still ongoing, and the death toll may rise,” Zaman told reporters, adding that several sections of the hospital had been destroyed, local media reported as rescue teams battled fires and attempted to retrieve bodies from the rubble.
According to Khaama Press, the strike has been described by officials as one of the deadliest attacks in Kabul in recent years. The outlet reported that international figures quickly reacted to the incident.
Richard Bennett, the UN Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan, expressed concern over the reported civilian casualties and urged restraint between Kabul and Islamabad. Former Afghan peace negotiator Abdullah Abdullah also condemned the attack, calling it a violation of international law and urging that disputes be resolved through dialogue.
Former US special representative for Afghan reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad similarly voiced concern about the civilian toll and called for humanitarian assistance for victims.
(IANS)
