Afghanistan claims 400 killed by Pakistan in deadly strike on Kabul 'drug treatment hospital'
Pakistan has dismissed the accusations and said the strikes did not hit any civilian sites
Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of launching an air strike on a hospital treating drug users in Kabul, claiming at least 400 people have been killed.
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In response, Pakistan has dismissed the claim as "false and aimed at misleading the public opinion", saying its strike in Kabul and other strikes in eastern Afghanistan on Monday had not hit any civilian sites and targeted military bases.
Hamdullah Fitrat, the Taliban's deputy spokesman, said the attack took place at 9pm local time on Monday and that 400 had been killed, and 250 others were injured.
He added: "Rescue teams are currently at the scene working to control the fire and recover the remaining bodies of the victims."
Footage from local television stations has shown firefighters struggling to extinguish flames among the ruins of a building – a 2,000-bed facility.
Read more: Pakistan declares ‘open war’ on Afghanistan amid strikes on Kabul
Sharafat Zaman, the country's health ministry spokesman, said that 3,000 drug users were under treatment at the centre during the attack.
Most of those killed and wounded in the strike were said to be patients undergoing treatment at the facility.
Mosharraf Zaidi, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's spokesman, has denied the claims and said the strikes did not hit any civilian sites.
In a post on X, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information said the strikes had “precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure, including technical equipment storage and ammunition storage of Afghan Taliban” and Afghanistan-based Pakistani fighters in Kabul and Nangarhar.
It added that the facilities were being used against innocent Pakistani civilians and that Pakistan’s targeting was “precise and carefully undertaken to ensure no collateral damage is inflicted”.
The alleged attack came hours after Afghan officials said the two sides had exchanged fire along their common border, killing four people in Afghanistan, as the deadliest fighting between the neighbours in years entered a third week.
The fighting began in February after Afghanistan launched cross-border attacks in response to Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan that Kabul said killed civilians.
The clashes disrupted a ceasefire brokered by Qatar in October after earlier fighting killed dozens.