Families Search for Missing Relatives After Deadly Strike on Kabul Rehab Center

The strike hit the state-run addiction treatment center late Monday in one of the deadliest single attacks reported in the latest round of fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Reuters and AP reported that the hospital had around 2,000 beds, while Afghan officials said roughly 3,000 patients from across the country were at the facility when the attack happened.

Witnesses described scenes of fire, panic and bodies trapped under rubble. Reuters quoted a survivor as saying the blast felt “like doomsday,” while rescue workers said they were still pulling bodies from the debris hours later. Families waiting outside the ruined complex told AFP and Al Jazeera they had received little clear information about relatives admitted for treatment.

Afghan authorities blamed Pakistan directly for the bombing and called it a grave attack on civilians. Pakistan rejected the allegation, saying its operations were precise and intended to avoid civilian casualties. Reuters, AP and The Guardian all reported that Islamabad insisted it had targeted only militant related sites in Kabul and Nangarhar, not hospitals or other civilian facilities.

The attack has sharply escalated a conflict that had already been worsening for weeks along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Reuters said the latest fighting began last month and has become the most serious confrontation between the two neighbors in years, after repeated accusations by Islamabad that armed groups based in Afghanistan were carrying out deadly attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul has rejected those claims and accused Pakistan of violating Afghan sovereignty.

International concern has also grown. Al Jazeera reported that UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett said he was dismayed by the reported civilian casualties and urged all sides to de-escalate, show restraint and protect civilian sites such as hospitals under international law.

The Omid hospital, established in 2016, was one of Afghanistan’s main addiction treatment facilities and also offered vocational training to patients trying to rebuild their lives. Its destruction has added a new humanitarian dimension to an already dangerous regional conflict, leaving families in Kabul waiting for answers as rescue teams continue searching the ruins.