AFGHAN officials accused Pakistan today of killing at least 400 people in an attack on a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul.

The attack was a further escalation of a conflict between the two neighbours that is now in its third week.

In a social media post, Afghan deputy government spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said the air attack had hit the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, a 2,000-bed facility in Kabul, at about 9pm local time.

He said that large sections of the building had been destroyed and that the death toll had “so far” reached 400, while about 250 people had been reported wounded. 

Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the attack, accusing Pakistan of “targeting hospitals and civilian sites to perpetrate horrors.” 

Those killed were “innocent civilians and addicts,” he added.

“We strongly condemn this crime and consider such an act to be against all accepted principles and a crime against humanity,” Mr Mujahid wrote in a separate social media post.

Pakistani authorities strongly denied having targeted the hospital.

In a post on X, the Information Ministry said that the Pakistani military had “precisely targeted” the Camp Phoenix site, which it said was now a “military terrorist ammunition and equipment storage site.” 

It said that Omid hospital was miles away from the former camp and accused Afghan officials of lying.

“Another important question also lingers, as to why would an alleged drug rehabilitation facility be colocated with a lethal ammunition storage site in a military camp? This also remains unanswered,” the Information Ministry wrote.

At the site of the attack, rescue team member Allah Mohammad Farooq said that hundreds had been killed.

“When we arrived here, everyone was buried under the rubble,” he said. “We then used a crane to pull them out. Most of the people were dead and many are still trapped under the debris.”

The casualties were taken to several hospitals in the area. It wasn’t immediately possible to independently confirm the death toll.

The conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan began in late last month and has seen repeated cross-border clashes as well as air attacks inside Afghanistan. 

International calls for a ceasefire have been ignored by both sides. 

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of providing safe haven for militants who frequently carry out attacks inside Pakistan, especially to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a group separate from but closely allied with the Afghan Taliban.