Afghanistan blames Pakistan for strike on drug rehabilitation hospital, with dozens feared dead or injured

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Yama Bariz,BBC Afghan, Kabuland

Kathryn Armstrong

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BBC

Officials say thousands of people were being treated for drug addiction at the hospital

Dozens of people are feared dead or injured at a drug treatment centre in Kabul, Afghanistan after an air strike that the Taliban government blamed on Pakistan.

The hospital was hit on Monday evening, killing some people and injuring others, the government’s spokesman said on X.

Pakistan’s information ministry denied targeting the centre, saying it had struck military installations and what it called “terrorist support infrastructure” in Kabul and the eastern Afghan province of Nangahar.

The BBC visited the hospital, parts of which were still on fire, and saw more than 30 bodies being carried out on stretchers.

More than 3,000 people were being treated there, according to hospital officials, who believe there could be hundreds of casualties.

The Afghan health ministry’s spokesman, Sharafat Zaman Amarkhail, told the BBC there are no military facilities near the hospital.

Residents reported hearing loud explosions across Kabul at around 20:50 local time (16:20 GMT), followed by the sound of aircraft and air defence systems.

Family members of those being treated at the hospital were gathered outside, desperately trying to find information about their loved ones.

The ongoing conflict between the neighbouring countries re-erupted last month, with Pakistan accusing Afghanistan of harbouring militant groups - something the Taliban government denies.

At least 75 people have been killed and 193 injured in Afghanistan as a result of ongoing cross-border fighting between the countries since 26 February, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

It follows months of clashes, despite the two sides agreeing to a fragile ceasefire in October.

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