Afghan Officials Say Pakistani Airstrike Killed Hundreds In Kabul
Afghan officials and Taliban authorities said Pakistani airstrikes hit a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, killing hundreds of people in what would be one of the deadliest attacks reported in the Afghan capital in recent years.
According to the officials, the strikes targeted a rehabilitation center in Kabul. Multiple news organizations reported that families were searching for missing relatives after the attack, as responders and residents worked through the aftermath.
Afghan officials blamed Pakistan for carrying out the airstrikes. Taliban authorities said hundreds were feared dead, and at least one report described bodies being removed from the site. The death toll and the number of people injured were not independently confirmed in the information provided.
The incident immediately sharpened tensions between Afghanistan’s Taliban-run government and Pakistan, which have repeatedly accused each other of responsibility for cross-border violence. An airstrike in the center of Kabul, and one that Afghan officials say struck a medical facility, also raises urgent questions about civilian protection and the safety of patients and staff in places meant for treatment and recovery.
The reported target—a drug rehabilitation hospital—adds another layer to the crisis. Such centers often house vulnerable patients undergoing treatment and can be crowded. Any large-scale loss of life there would reverberate across Afghan families and the health system, which has struggled for years with limited resources and disruption from conflict.
The claims also place Pakistan under intensifying international scrutiny. If confirmed, a strike by Pakistan’s military in Afghanistan’s capital would be a major escalation with potential diplomatic and security consequences. The allegations come as Afghanistan remains isolated and aid-dependent, and as the region grapples with instability and competing security priorities.
In Kabul, the immediate focus was on recovery efforts and locating the missing. Families were reported to be searching for loved ones, while authorities assessed the damage and casualties. The scale of the reported deaths suggests a significant emergency response, including identification of victims and support for survivors.
What happens next will depend on how Afghan and Pakistani officials respond publicly and through diplomatic channels, and on any additional accounting of casualties and damage. Further details about the location struck, the circumstances of the attack, and the number of victims are expected to emerge as officials provide updates and as reporting continues from Kabul.
For now, Afghan officials’ allegations of a deadly Pakistani airstrike on a Kabul rehabilitation hospital mark a grim development that could reshape an already tense relationship between the two neighbors.
