KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Mass funerals began Wednesday for victims of a Pakistani airstrike in Kabul that Afghan officials say killed at least 408 people and wounded 265, marking a dramatic escalation in a conflict entering its third week. Bulldozers dug graves in a Kabul cemetery as families prepared to bury those identified from the wreckage of what was a drug rehabilitation hospital.
The Pakistani government rejects accusations that it targeted the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, maintaining its strikes Monday were aimed at military facilities. Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told the Associated Press in Islamabad that the strikes targeted “terrorist infrastructure” and “Afghan Taliban regime…military setups.” He claimed the strikes were “very precise” and hit an ammunition depot, attributing civilian casualties to the presence of arms and technical equipment.
Afghan officials condemn the strike as a deliberate attack on civilians and a hospital. Government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid accused Pakistan of “targeting hospitals and civilian sites to perpetrate horrors,” stating those killed were “innocent civilians and addicts.”
The escalating conflict began in late February following cross-border attacks launched by Afghanistan in response to Pakistani airstrikes. The clashes have disrupted a ceasefire brokered by Qatar last October, which had followed earlier fighting that resulted in numerous deaths among soldiers, civilians, and suspected militants.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harboring militants, particularly the Pakistani Taliban, who launch attacks within Pakistan. Kabul denies these charges.
The 2,000-bed Omid hospital, formerly a smaller treatment facility, had been expanded as part of the Taliban government’s efforts to address widespread drug addiction in the country. Afghanistan remains a major source of opium and heroin, contributing to a significant addiction problem.
The hospital’s location, near Kabul’s international airport and adjacent to the former Camp Phoenix NATO base, remains a point of contention. The current use of the site is unclear. Footage from local television showed rescue crews searching through the smoldering remains of the hospital late Monday night.
The fighting has raised concerns within the international community, particularly given the presence of other militant groups, including al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, in the region. Pakistan declared itself in “open war” with Afghanistan last month.
Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writer Elena Becatoros contributed from Athens, Greece.