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 air strike.
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, leading to a catastrophic loss of life. The Taliban government has reported that the number of fatalities has reached around 400, although this figure has yet to be confirmed.
Among the survivors, Mohammad Shafee, a patient in his 20s, recounted, I was in the kitchen helping to serve dinner when I heard a loud bang and ran for safety. When I returned, I found most of our colleagues and people in the dining room hit. Only five of us survived.
Maiwand Hoshmand, a doctor at the facility, added that the attack struck shortly after patients finished dinner and some were engaged in prayer when the jets hit three sections of the centre.
Eyewitnesses detailed how military units fired on the jets, which retaliated by dropping bombs that ignited a massive fire. Ahmad, a 50-year-old patient, described the scene as doomsday, with friends caught in the inferno.
Initially, at least 100 bodies are reported to have been taken to the Kabul Forensic Medicine Department. Some victims have been identified, whereas many others remain severely disfigured, complicating the identification process. The facility, previously known as Camp Phoenix, had been converted to serve as a rehabilitation centre amidst Afghanistan's rampant drug addiction crisis.
UN officials are calling for restraint on both sides amidst escalating hostilities, with at least six health facilities reportedly affected in Afghanistan recently.
