Rescue teams pull out bodies after deadly Kabul hospital airstrike | Pakistan Taliban news

Rescue teams have recovered more bodies from a demolished Kabul drug rehabilitation hospital after an overnight airstrike claimed more than 400 lives. The attack marked a dramatic escalation in the conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan that has intensified over the past three weeks.

Pakistan rejected Afghanistan’s claims about the hospital strike, insisting that its Monday operations in eastern Afghanistan only targeted military installations. Pakistani officials dismissed the reported death toll as propaganda.

The injured and dead were taken to many local hospitals, where crowds frantically searched for family members. Independent verification of accident statistics is impossible.

Despite international calls for a ceasefire, the conflict inside Afghanistan has escalated through repeated border skirmishes and airstrikes.

The latest attack comes hours after Afghan officials reported border clashes in Afghanistan that killed four people.

The conflict stems from an ongoing and contentious dispute over the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), which Pakistan accuses of harboring in Afghanistan.

Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the strike, saying Pakistan was “targeting hospitals and civilian sites to perpetrate terror”. He stressed that those killed were “innocent civilians and addicts”.

“We strongly condemn this crime and such an act is against all accepted principles and a crime against humanity,” he said in a separate post on X.

Rescue worker Allah Mohammad Farooq reported that hundreds were killed.

“When we got here, everyone was buried under the rubble,” he said. “We later used a crane to pull them out. Most people died and many are still trapped under the debris.”

Near the site of the attack, Haji Najeebullah broke down in tears explaining that his son and relatives were being treated at the hospital.

“We have no information about who is alive and who is buried under the rubble,” he said. “God only knows who may have survived and who may have been injured.”

Richard Bennett, UN human rights expert in Afghanistan, wrote on X that he was “dismayed by fresh reports of #Pakistani airstrikes and civilian casualties in #Afghanistan.” Offering his condolences, he added: “I urge the parties to exercise maximum restraint and respect international law, including the protection of civilians and civilian objects such as hospitals.”