Hundreds of Patients at Rehabilitation Hospital Killed in Pakistani Airstrike
Rescue teams continue to evacuate bodies from the wreckage of the Omid addiction care hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. The drug rehabilitation facility was devastated following a Pakistani airstrike on Monday evening (16 March), precisely when residents were breaking their fast during the holy month of Ramadan.
The strike, which occurred around 21:00 local time, is recorded as the deadliest incident in the recent escalation of the Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict. The Taliban government reports estimated deaths of approximately 400 people, though exact figures remain under confirmation.
The explosion occurred as patients had just finished dinner and some were performing congregational prayer. Mohammad Shafee, a patient in his twenties, described the terrifying moments when the bomb struck the kitchen where he was helping prepare food.
“I heard a loud explosion and ran to save myself,” he told the BBC. “When I returned, most of my companions and people in the dining room had been struck. Only five of us survived.”
Ahmad, 50, another patient undergoing treatment, described the situation at the site as a horrifying spectacle. “The entire place was burning. It felt like the apocalypse,” he told Reuters. “My friends were burning in the fire, and we could not save them all.”
To date, the precise reason why the health facility became a target remains unclear. The Pakistani government denies Afghanistan’s claim that they deliberately attacked the hospital. Islamabad insists the operation “precisely targeted military installations and infrastructure supporting terrorists.”
However, eyewitnesses at the location provided a different account. Omid Stanikzai, a security guard, heard jet sounds patrolling before the attack. “There was a military unit around us. When these military units opened fire on the jet, it dropped bombs and fire erupted,” he explained.
By Tuesday, grief enveloped the remains of the still-smoking single-storey building. Dozens of families gathered outside the gates, anxiously awaiting news of their relatives.
A mother with nine children appeared desperate searching for her husband, Gul Meer, who had been undergoing treatment for seven months. “Since the attack occurred last night, we have received no information about him. I am waiting for the list of names to be announced,” she said.
A source from Kabul’s Department of Forensic Medicine confirmed that at least 100 bodies have been received. However, the identification process is progressing slowly because many bodies have suffered severe burns.
The Omid facility was a former US military base (Camp Phoenix) that was converted into a rehabilitation centre in 2016. Under Taliban rule, the facility became severely overcrowded, accommodating up to 5,000 patients despite its original capacity of only 2,000 people.
The United Nations is now urging both parties to exercise restraint, given that at least six health facilities in Afghanistan have been affected by border conflict since late February.
Pakistan has struck a rehabilitation centre in the capital, resulting in deaths and injuries. The Taliban government has pledged that such actions will not be tolerated.
At least 10 countries have conducted operations ranging from unmanned aircraft strikes to invasions, often several times in a single year.
Iranian President Pezeshkian stated that the government continues to operate despite escalating conflict in the country.
Nine people were reported killed and 40 others injured in clashes between police and protesters at the US Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan.
ISIS claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide bombing in Kabul that killed at least six people.