Hundreds Killed in Pakistani Airstrike on Kabul Drug Clinic

Afghan workers cleared rubble from the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul on March 17, 2026, after Pakistani airstrikes struck the facility.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) confirmed that hundreds were killed or wounded in the attack-the first independent verification of the high toll. Taliban officials claimed approximately 400 dead and over 200 injured at the clinic.

Pakistan stated it targeted military installations and terrorist infrastructure in Kabul and Nangarhar province but called accusations of striking the clinic “entirely baseless.”

NRC country director Jacopo Caridi, who visited the site immediately after the strike, described the scene as “horrific,” with body parts scattered amid collapsed walls. One building was completely burned and destroyed. Rescue teams struggled to recover remains or identify victims due to limited forensic capacity in Afghanistan.