Afghanistan's deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat has said that a strike on a hospital in Kabul has killed 400 people, with around 250 injured. He blamed the Pakistani military for the attack on the state-run Omid hospital, which was treating drug users.
Pakistan denied the claim, stating that it had precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure. It dismissed allegations of hitting a civilian target as false and misleading.
Witnesses described scenes of devastation. Ahmad, a security guard, said the whole place caught fire and it was like doomsday. Another guard, Omid Stanikzai, reported that the assault began with anti-aircraft fire before bombs were dropped.
The health ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman said around 3,000 patients were in the hospital at the time. Rescue teams searched the rubble for survivors on Tuesday morning, finding only blackened walls and debris.
The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, expressed dismay at the reports and urged all parties to de-escalate and respect international law protecting civilians and civilian objects such as hospitals.
The alleged attack follows recent cross-border clashes that have displaced over 20,000 people. Pakistan has described the situation as an open war, while Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of targeting civilians.
