Taliban officials say a Pakistani airstrike hit the hospital, killing more than 400 and injuring more than 250. According to estimates provided by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, at least 143 people died and 119 were wounded in the attack. Pakistan says it had struck only a "military and terrorist infrastructure."
An ambulance driver Haji Fahim said he arrived at the hospital to find everything was burning, people were burning. Early in the morning they called me again and told me to come back because there are still bodies under the rubble.
Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the strike, claiming Pakistan was targeting hospitals and civilian sites to perpetrate horrors. He emphasised that those killed were innocent civilians and addicts. We strongly condemn this crime and consider such an act to be against all accepted principles and a crime against humanity.
Afghanistan accused Pakistan of carrying out an airstrike that killed at least 400 people at a drug treatment hospital in Kabul late Monday. Afghan officials said the strike hit the 2,000-bed rehabilitation facility at around 9 p.m. local time (1630 GMT), causing extensive damage and leaving hundreds wounded, in a major escalation of the weekslong cross-border fighting between the neighbors.
The security threat from terrorist groups, especially TTP but also ISIS-K residing in Afghanistan, has been increasing, which made 2025 the deadliest year in a decade for Pakistan in terms of casualties from such violence. The surge in cross-border terror attacks from Afghan soil since the Taliban returned to power has been confirmed by successive reports of the UN Security Council's sanctions monitoring team.
Pakistan has carried out air strikes in Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar, locals told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, as fresh fighting erupted between the neighbors. Explosions were also heard in Kabul, according to city residents who spoke to Radio Azadi. Unverified footage on social media appeared to show plumes of smoke rising into the sky in the Afghan capital. The cause of the explosions was not immediately clear.
