Afghanistan says 400 killed in Pak. airstrike on Kabul hospital

18 MARCH 2026

Rescuers recovered bodies from the rubble of Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, a 2,000-bed drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul after officials said an overnight airstrike killed more than 400 people, in a dramatic escalation of the conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan that is now in its third week.
The Omid hospital was renamed and expanded in size roughly a year ago from the Ibn Sina Drug Addiction Treatment Hospital as part of government plans to stamp out drug addiction in the country.
The site, near Kabul’s international airport, is located beside a former NATO military base, Camp Phoenix, where U.S. forces used to train the Afghan National Army.
Pakistan rejected Afghanistan’s accusation that it targeted the hospital, insisting its strikes, which were also conducted in eastern Afghanistan, were aimed at Camp Phoenix, which it said was now a “military terrorist ammunition and equipment storage site.”.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of providing safe haven for militants who carry out attacks inside Pakistan, especially for the Pakistani Taliban.
The group is separate but closely allied with the Afghan Taliban who took over Afghanistan in 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led troops.
Kabul denies the charge.
International calls for ceasefire have gone unheeded.