The death toll from an airstrike on a hospital treating drug users in the Afghan capital of Kabul has reached 400, authorities announced early Tuesday. The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan accused Pakistan’s military of launching the late Monday strike, an allegation Islamabad firmly denied.
Afghan deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat confirmed the surging fatality count on Tuesday morning. The new figure superseded an earlier statement from Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman, who initially reported more than 200 casualties shortly after the facility was struck.
Pakistan dismissed the accusations entirely. Pakistani officials, including Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, stated that military operations conducted late Monday were aimed at anti-state militant hideouts in eastern Afghanistan and did not strike any civilian infrastructure in the capital.
The incident occurs amid established cross-border friction between the neighboring countries. Pakistan frequently conducts counter-terrorism operations targeting militant factions, including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, operating within Afghan territory. Afghan authorities routinely accuse Islamabad of executing operations that result in civilian casualties in border provinces such as Khost, Nangarhar, and Kandahar.