Kabul, Mar 17 (V7N) — The Taliban government has claimed that a airstrike on a hospital in Kabul killed around 400 people and injured approximately 250 others, according to reports by Al Jazeera.

Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said the strike occurred around 9 pm local time at the Omar Addiction Treatment Hospital, a 2,000-bed facility. He stated that a large portion of the hospital was destroyed and rescue teams are continuing efforts to extinguish fires and recover bodies from the debris.

Local television footage showed firefighters battling flames amid the rubble following the attack.

However, Pakistan has firmly denied the allegations. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Musharraf Zaidi, described the claims as “baseless” and an attempt to mislead the public.

Pakistan’s Information Ministry said its forces carried out “precise and targeted” strikes only on military installations, technology storage facilities, and ammunition depots linked to Afghan  and Pakistani militant groups in Kabul and Nangarhar.

Earlier in the day, Afghan officials reported cross-border firing that killed at least four people, as tensions between the countries continue to escalate.

Taliban chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the alleged strike, calling it a violation of Afghan airspace and describing the attack on a medical facility as a crime against humanity.

The situation marks one of the deadliest phases of recent Clash between Afghanistan and Pakistan, now entering its third week.

END/SMA/AJ