Dozens of people are feared dead or injured after an air strike hit a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul, intensifying tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Authorities in Afghanistan said the strike occurred on Monday evening and targeted a facility treating drug addiction. A spokesperson for the Taliban government blamed Pakistan for the attack, reporting multiple casualties. However, Islamabad denied hitting any civilian or health-related site, stating that its operation focused strictly on military targets and infrastructure linked to militant groups.
Journalists from BBC News who visited the scene reported extensive damage, with parts of the centre still burning hours after the strike. More than 30 bodies were seen being carried away, while emergency teams continued searching for survivors.
Officials at the rehabilitation centre said around 2,000 people were undergoing treatment at the time of the incident, raising fears that the number of casualties could be significantly higher. The Afghan health ministry, through its spokesperson Sharafat Zaman Amarkhail, stated that there were no military facilities in the vicinity of the site.
Residents described hearing powerful explosions across the city, followed by aircraft activity and air defence responses. Outside the facility, families gathered anxiously, seeking information about relatives who had been inside at the time of the strike.
Taliban officials suggested the death toll could be very high, though no independent verification has confirmed those figures. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s information ministry rejected the accusations, insisting the strikes were conducted with precision to avoid civilian harm and accusing Afghan authorities of misrepresenting the situation.
The site, previously used as a military base during earlier conflicts, had been converted into a rehabilitation centre after the Taliban returned to power in 2021. It was known for housing individuals undergoing treatment for drug addiction, many of whom had been brought in from across the capital.
Rescue operations continued into the following day, with emergency workers combing through debris. The destruction was widespread, with collapsed structures, burned materials and personal belongings scattered across the area.
The incident comes amid renewed cross-border tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Since late February, clashes have intensified, with Pakistan accusing Afghan authorities of allowing militant groups to operate from its territory—an allegation denied by Kabul.
According to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, ongoing fighting between the two countries has already resulted in dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries in recent weeks.
Efforts to de-escalate the situation are ongoing. China has called for restraint, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi urging both sides to pursue dialogue and reach a ceasefire as soon as possible.
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