On Eid, the Muslim festival marking the end of Ramadan, Sohrab Faqiri searched for the grave of his brother, killed in a Pakistani airstrike on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul. The strike, which Pakistan says targeted terrorist infrastructure, hit the Omid (Hope) facility on Monday night. The UN's preliminary death toll is 143, while the Taliban administration reports over 400 dead.
Faqiri's brother, Qais, a tailor and father, had been receiving treatment at the centre for three months. After the strike, Faqiri could not find him among survivors and spent two days visiting hospitals. He later recognised his brother in a video of a mass burial. At the hillside graveyard, he found rows of unmarked graves. “Worst of all is that his grave is not known to us,” he said, weeping. He has not yet told their mother.
The attack occurred as patients returned to their dormitories after Tarawih prayers. Wali Nazir Mohammad, 23, was injured when shrapnel pierced his room. He said one of the large buildings was directly hit. From his hospital bed, he called for revenge. Juma Khan Nael of the Afghan Red Crescent described the fire as uncontrollable, with rescuers finding only body parts. Maisam Shafiey of the Norwegian Refugee Council said a large building was reduced to rubble.
Afghan authorities report 408 killed and 265 injured. Pakistan claims it struck a military target harbouring terrorists. Georgette Gagnon of the UN mission expects the death toll to rise, noting the centre was within a facility formerly a US base. She called for de-escalation and a ceasefire.
