Dozens of people are feared dead or injured at a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul after an air strike on Monday evening. The Taliban government blamed Pakistan for the attack, though Pakistan denied targeting any health facility, asserting that it “precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure” in Kabul and the eastern province of Nangahar.
Officials at the centre said more than 2,000 people were being treated at the facility when the strike occurred. BBC reporters on the scene saw more than 30 bodies being carried out on stretchers, with parts of the centre still burning. While Taliban spokespersons claimed that at least 400 people may have died, these figures have not been independently verified.
The Afghan health ministry confirmed that there were no military facilities near the rehabilitation centre. Residents reported hearing loud explosions around 20:50 local time (16:20 GMT), followed by the sounds of aircraft and air defence systems. Family members gathered outside, desperately searching for information about loved ones.
The strike comes amid ongoing cross-border tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which re-erupted in February. Since February 26, at least 75 people have been killed and 193 injured in Afghanistan as a result of the fighting, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
The rehabilitation centre was formerly a US military base and a known drug user hangout. When the Taliban regained power in August 2021, the site was converted into a treatment facility for drug users rounded up across Kabul.
China has urged both countries to exercise restraint and called for a ceasefire “at the earliest opportunity.” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has reportedly spoken with his Afghan and Pakistani counterparts over the phone in the past week to cool tensions.
The strike highlights the growing instability in the region, where cross-border disputes and militant activity continue to endanger civilians.
