Hundreds of people were killed in a Pakistani strike on a rescue hospital in Afghanistan, the Taliban said

The Taliban group in Afghanistan says a Pakistani military attack on a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul has killed more than 400 people and wounded 250 others.

The attack took place around 09:00 on Monday at a base in Kabul’s Police District 9, according to Taliban officials.

“The Pakistani military bombed a 2,000-bed drug rehabilitation hospital called ‘Omid.’ Large parts of the hospital were destroyed,” Hamdullah Firtat, a Taliban spokesman, told X.

“Unfortunately, the number of martyrs (dead) has reached 400 people, while another 250 have been injured.”

Sharafat Zaman, a spokesman for the Taliban’s Department of Public Health, told CBS News that the death toll could rise as rescuers are still pulling bodies from the rubble.

Videos shared with CBS News by the Taliban show the hospital engulfed in flames as firefighters and rescue teams try to put out the fire and carry the dead and wounded away on stretchers.

Muhammad Ashraf, who worked at a nearby hospital, told CBS News that he heard multiple gunshots followed by two large explosions.

Pakistan denied the Taliban’s accusations that it had hit a medical facility as “false claims,” ​​saying, “secondary explosions seen after the strikes clearly indicate the presence of large ammunition sites,” and that it was conducting “precision airstrikes” targeting Afghan Taliban military installations in Kabul and Nararhar provinces.

“Pakistani forces successfully carried out airstrikes on the night of March 16…targeting Afghan Taliban insurgency that supports military installations in Kabul and Nangarhar.” Attaullah Tarar, Pakistan’s Minister of Information and Broadcasting, said in a post on social media.

“Technical support infrastructure and ammunition depots in two areas in Kabul were destroyed,” he said.

Videos shared with CBS News did not appear to show a second explosion or gunfire following the first blast.

Omid Hospital, which translates as “Hope,” is a large addiction rehabilitation center located in a former NATO camp. Thousands of young Afghans struggling with addiction, one of the country’s worst social problems, are brought to the center for treatment.

The attack comes after weeks of intense cross-border attacks between Afghanistan and Pakistan that began in late February. Pakistan has done it he said in “open war” with Afghanistan and targets terrorist groups.

Tensions escalated to the point that Pakistani aircraft carried out airstrikes in Kabul and other parts of the country. Afghanistan said Islamabad was violating its sovereignty, and as a result, the Taliban hit Pakistani cities with drones.

Last week, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said at least four people were killed and 14 injured following an airstrike in Kabul.

Qatar’s previous freeze collapsed in February. On Monday, China said its special envoy was traveling between Kabul and Islamabad to mediate between the two sides and called for an immediate ceasefire.

“China hopes that Afghanistan and Pakistan will remain calm and restrained, hold face-to-face talks as soon as possible, reach a ceasefire as soon as possible, and resolve differences and conflicts through dialogue. China will continue to facilitate reconciliation and ease tensions.” A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Twitter.

Pakistan has said that armed groups, such as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, are attacking Pakistani territory from Afghanistan, where they have been given safe haven. Afghanistan denies Pakistan’s accusations and says the TTP is an internal issue of Pakistan that does not align with the Taliban.