400 Feared Dead in Pakistani Airstrike on Kabul Rehabilitation Hospital
The Taliban reports at least 400 deaths after a Pakistani airstrike destroyed the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul. Pakistan denies targeting the 2,000-bed facility, claiming its strikes hit only military infrastructure.
The Taliban government announced Tuesday that at least 400 people were killed when Pakistani jets struck the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul late Monday night. The strike occurred at approximately 9:00 p.m. local time on March 16, hitting the 2,000-bed drug rehabilitation facility built on the site of the former NATO base Camp Phoenix.
Afghan officials reported a further 250 to 265 people were wounded. Rescue crews were still searching through the rubble Tuesday morning as the full scale of the destruction came into view.
Pakistan rejected the Taliban's account, stating that its aircraft conducted precision strikes exclusively on military installations and terrorist infrastructure. Islamabad denied that any hospital or civilian facility was targeted or hit.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan confirmed the hospital was impacted by the strike and called on all parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect medical facilities and civilians.
The Telegraph was among the first major international outlets to report the casualty figures cited by the Taliban.
The incident is the deadliest yet in a period of sharply escalating cross-border military action between Pakistan and the Taliban-led Afghan government that has continued for the past three weeks.