Relatives and friends gathered outside the Omar Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul after the facility was struck in an attack Afghan authorities say was carried out by Pakistani aircraft. Taliban officials said the strike happened at about 9pm local time (16:30 GMT) on Monday.
Among those searching was 38-year-old mechanic Baryalai Amiri, who came to the 2,000-bed clinic looking for a brother admitted about 25 days earlier. Amiri said rescuers were sifting through rubble but families were not being given clear information about the fate of their loved ones.
The incident comes amid a months-long confrontation between Afghanistan and Pakistan, with Islamabad accusing Kabul of harbouring armed groups behind cross-border attacks. The recent escalation, which began last month, has been described as the worst in years between the neighbours and has persisted despite mediation efforts by countries including China.
Pakistan rejected Afghan claims that civilians were hit, saying its forces had targeted military installations and infrastructure supporting militants, and that operations were precise to avoid collateral damage. Islamabad dismissed Afghan statements as false and intended to mislead public opinion.
Health officials said about 3,000 patients from across Afghanistan were at the clinic when the strikes occurred, triggering panic in Kabul shortly after people had broken their daily Ramadan fast. Afghanistan’s Ministry of Interior Affairs later gave casualty figures of 408 dead and 265 injured.
Witnesses reported hearing three explosions as people finished evening prayers; two of the blasts struck rooms and patient areas. A 50-year-old patient named Ahmad described the scene, saying the whole place caught fire and some friends burned in the blaze. Ambulance driver Haji Fahim, who arrived shortly after the raids, said he saw people and buildings ablaze and that bodies remained under the rubble.
The clinic, opened in 2016, had treated hundreds of patients and also ran vocational training programs such as tailoring and carpentry to help rehabilitated people find work. The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, said he was dismayed by reports of air raids and civilian casualties and urged all parties to de-escalate, exercise restraint and uphold protections for hospitals and civilians under international law.