Kabul, Afghanistan. Taliban authorities said Pakistan struck a state-run rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, killing more than 400 people, a claim Pakistan rejected as false. The reported strike marks a sharp escalation in tensions between the two neighbouring countries.
Taliban account of the strike
Afghan interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qanie said 408 people were killed and 265 wounded. Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said the strike hit the state-run Omid hospital, a 2,000-bed rehabilitation centre, at around 9 p.m. local time on Monday as patients were completing evening prayers.
Taliban officials said those killed were mostly civilians and recovering addicts.
Witness description
Ahmad, 50, who said he was receiving treatment at the facility, said the building caught fire and people could not save everyone inside.
Verification and Pakistan’s response
Reuters said it could not independently verify the casualty figures.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the strikes “precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure,” and said secondary detonations confirmed the presence of large ammunition depots. A spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister dismissed Taliban claims about drug patients being targeted as “constant lies.”
International reaction
India said it “unequivocally” condemned the attack and said it was more reprehensible for occurring during Ramadan. China again appealed for calm and said it would continue efforts to mediate.
Wider conflict
The conflict erupted last month with Pakistani air strikes that Islamabad said targeted militant strongholds, and has become the worst the two neighbours have seen. Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harbouring militants behind attacks on Pakistani soil, a charge the Taliban deny.
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