Afghanistan claims Pakistan killed 400 in Kabul hospital attack

Afghanistan has accused Pakistan's military of launching an airstrike on a hospital treating drug users in Kabul, killing at least 400 people. Pakistan dismissed the claim as false and aimed at misleading public opinion, saying it only targeted military installations in Kabul and Nangarhar province on Monday, March 16.

The attack on Kabul's Omar Addiction Treatment Hospital, a 2,000-bed facility, occurred around 9:00 pm local time, destroying large sections of the building, according to Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for Afghanistan's Taliban government.

"Unfortunately, the death toll has so far reached 400, while around 250 others have been reported injured. Rescue teams are currently at the scene, working to control the fire and recover the remaining bodies of the victims," he wrote on X.

Local television footage showed firefighters struggling to extinguish flames among the ruins. A security guard at the hospital told AFP that jets were patrolling before the attack, and when military units fired on the jet, it dropped bombs causing a fire. All dead and injured were civilians, he added.

The attack followed hours after cross-border fighting that killed four people in Afghanistan, including two children, as deadliest fighting between the neighbours in years entered a third week.

Pakistan's Ministry of Information said strikes precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure, including technical equipment storage and ammunition storage of Afghan Taliban and Pakistan-based fighters in Kabul and Nangarhar, used against innocent Pakistani civilians. The targeting was precise to ensure no collateral damage, the ministry added.

Earlier, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution condemning all terrorist activity from within Afghanistan and extended the UN political mission for three months. Pakistan accuses Kabul of harbouring armed groups, particularly the Pakistan Taliban, which it says carry out attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies these claims.

China said its special envoy spent a week mediating between the sides, urging an immediate ceasefire. However, analysts say the fighting shows little sign of ending soon, as previous mediators are bogged down by their own war, and other mediators have had limited success.

The World Food Programme said it began mobilising to provide immediate lifesaving food to more than 20,000 families displaced in Afghanistan due to the conflict.