Tragic Airstrike Hits Kabul Rehab Centre During Ramadan Dinner

Wed Mar 18 2026 17:40:07 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

A devastating airstrike in Kabul has resulted in significant casualties at a drug rehabilitation centre, with survivors recounting the chaos during the attack.

An airstrike in Kabul targeted the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, killing an estimated 400 people during the Ramadan dinner. Patients and staff were caught off-guard, leading to high casualty numbers. The attack has exacerbated tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with humanitarian officials calling for restraint amidst escalating violence.

Rescue teams are continuing to pull bodies from the smoking rubble of a drug rehabilitation centre in the Afghan capital, Kabul, which was hit on Monday night in a devastating Pakistani airstrike.

The attack on the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, which happened at about 21:00 local time (16:30 GMT), is the deadliest in recent violence between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The strike occurred as residents broke their daily fast for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The death toll has continued to rise, with the Taliban government estimating about 400 fatalities, although this figure remains unverified. The airstrike also resulted in numerous injuries.

Mohammad Shafee, a patient in his 20s, survived the attack. I was in the kitchen helping to serve dinner when I heard a loud bang and ran for safety, he recounted. Upon returning, he found most colleagues and patients had been hit, with only five known survivors.

Maiwand Hoshmand, a doctor at the facility, noted that patients had just finished dinner, and many were in prayer when the jets struck.

One security guard described the chaos: There were military units all around us. When these military units fired on the jet, the jet dropped bombs and a fire broke out. Ahmad, another survivor, illustrated the terror: The whole place caught fire. It was like doomsday. My friends were burning in the fire, and we could not save them all.

The Taliban governmental figure dismissed accusations of a deliberate attack as entirely baseless, emphasizing that they targeted military installations and terrorist-supporting infrastructures.

As the search for survivors continues, the increasing hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan have drawn alarm from UN officials, with calls for restraint being made amidst the human toll of the conflict, impacting at least six health facilities in the region since late February.

The Omid Addiction Treatment facility, formerly known as Camp Phoenix during the war, has faced resource strains in recent years due to escalating addiction issues across Afghanistan.

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