Rescue teams are continuing to pull bodies from the smoking rubble of a drug rehabilitation center in Kabul, which was hit on Monday night in a devastating air strike that targeted the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital.
The attack occurred at approximately 21:00 local time, coinciding with the breaking of the daily fast during Ramadan, marking a dark chapter in the escalating violence between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Initial reports from the Taliban government suggest that the death toll may be as high as 400, though these figures are yet to be independently verified. Witnesses like patient Mohammad Shafee, who survived the attack, provide chilling accounts: I was in the kitchen helping to serve dinner when I heard a loud bang and ran for safety. When I returned later, I found most of our colleagues and people in the dining room hit. Only five of us survived.
Medical staff and members of the community have expressed deep concern as they witness the devastation unfold. Dr. Maiwand Hoshmand described the chaotic aftermath, stating that patients had just finished dinner and some were gathered for prayer when the jets struck, hitting multiple sections of the center.
Security guard Omid Stanikzai recounted the tense atmosphere leading up to the strike: There were military units around us. When they fired on the jet, it retaliated by dropping bombs, igniting a massive fire that engulfed the center.
The center, which previously served as a military base and has been repurposed to accommodate drug rehabilitation efforts under the Taliban government, was already strained under the weight of an overwhelmed facility housing thousands of patients seeking treatment for addiction.
Local officials and international bodies continue to urge restraint amid ongoing hostilities, with the UN documenting significant impacts to healthcare infrastructure in Afghanistan due to recent violence. A community remains on edge, desperately searching for loved ones lost in the chaos of this deadly strike.
