Afghanistan says 400 individuals killed in Pakistan strike on Kabul hospital : NPR

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan accused Pakistan of focusing on a hospital for drug customers within the Afghan capital late Monday, saying the airstrike had killed not less than 400 individuals. It marked a dramatic escalation of a battle that started late final month and has seen repeated cross-border clashes in addition to airstrikes inside Afghanistan. Worldwide requires a ceasefire have gone unheeded.

Pakistan dismissed the accusation that it had hit a hospital, saying its strikes, which had been additionally carried out in japanese Afghanistan, didn’t hit any civilian websites.

Afghanistan’s deputy authorities spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat, in a put up on X, stated the airstrike had hit the hospital at about 9 p.m. native time, destroying massive sections of the two,000-bed facility. He stated the loss of life toll had “thus far” reached 400 individuals, whereas about 250 individuals had been reported injured.

Native tv stations posted footage on X exhibiting safety forces utilizing flashlights as they carried out casualties whereas firefighters struggled to extinguish flames among the many ruins of a constructing. Fitrat stated rescue groups had been working to regulate the hearth and get well the our bodies.

The strike got here hours after Afghan officers stated the 2 sides exchanged fireplace alongside their frequent border, killing 4 individuals in Afghanistan, because the deadliest preventing between the neighbors in years entered a 3rd week.

Afghan authorities spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the strike on X, accusing Pakistan of “focusing on hospitals and civilian websites to perpetrate horrors.” In a put up earlier than the loss of life toll rose into the tons of, he stated these killed and injured had been sufferers on the hospital.

“We strongly condemn this crime and take into account such an act to be towards all accepted ideas and a criminal offense towards humanity,” he posted.

Pakistan dismisses the allegations

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesman, Mosharraf Zaidi, dismissed the allegations as baseless, saying no hospital was focused in Kabul.

In a put up on X earlier than Afghan officers gave a loss of life toll, Pakistan’s Ministry of Info stated the strikes “exactly focused army installations and terrorist help infrastructure together with technical tools storage and ammunition storage of Afghan Taliban” and Afghanistan-based Pakistani militants in Kabul and Nangarhar, saying the amenities had been getting used towards harmless Pakistani civilians.

It stated Pakistan’s focusing on was “exact and thoroughly undertaken to make sure no collateral harm is inflicted.” The ministry stated Mujahid’s declare was “false and deceptive” and aimed toward stirring sentiment and canopy what it described as “illegitimate help for cross-border terrorism.”

U.N. calls on Afghanistan to fight militants

The strike got here hours after the U.N. Safety Council referred to as on Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to right away step up efforts to fight terrorism. Pakistan accuses Kabul of harboring militant teams, significantly the Pakistani Taliban, which it says perform assaults inside Pakistan.

The Safety Council decision, adopted unanimously, did not identify Pakistan however condemns “within the strongest phrases all terrorist exercise together with terrorist assaults.” The decision additionally extends the U.N. political mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, for 3 months.

Pakistan’s authorities accuses Afghanistan of offering secure haven to the Pakistani Taliban, which is designated as a terrorist group by the USA, in addition to to outlawed Baloch separatist teams and different militants who often goal Pakistani safety forces and civilians throughout the nation. Kabul denies the cost.

The most recent battle

The preventing — essentially the most extreme between the 2 neighbors — started in late February after Afghanistan launched cross-border assaults in response to Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan that Kabul stated killed civilians. The clashes disrupted a ceasefire brokered by Qatar in October after earlier preventing killed dozens of troopers, civilians and suspected militants.

Pakistan has declared it’s in “open warfare” with Afghanistan. The battle has alarmed the worldwide group, significantly as the world is one the place different militant organizations, together with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, nonetheless have a presence and have been making an attempt to resurface.

On Sunday, Pakistani Info Minister Attaullah Tarar stated the army has killed 684 Afghan Taliban forces, a declare rejected by Afghanistan, which says casualties are far decrease. Afghanistan’s Protection Ministry and different officers have stated Afghanistan has killed greater than 100 Pakistani troopers.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari stated Afghanistan’s Taliban administration crossed a “crimson line” by deploying drones that injured a number of civilians in Pakistan final week.

Responding to these assaults, Pakistan’s air power over the weekend struck tools storage websites and “technical help infrastructure” in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar Province, saying it was getting used for assaults inside Pakistan. Kabul stated Pakistan hit two places, together with an empty safety web site and a drug rehabilitation middle that sustained minor harm.

In Kabul, Afghanistan’s administrative Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi stated defending sovereignty is the obligation of all residents. Talking throughout a gathering with political analysts and media figures, Hanafi expressed remorse over civilian casualties in current Pakistani assaults, saying the warfare was imposed on Afghanistan.