400 people killed in Pakistan strike on Afghanistan hospital treating drug users

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan accused Pakistan of targeting a infirmary for cause users successful the Afghan superior precocious Monday, saying the airstrike had killed astatine slightest 400 people. It marked a melodramatic escalation of a struggle that began precocious past period and has seen repeated cross-border clashes arsenic good arsenic airstrikes wrong Afghanistan. International calls for a ceasefire person gone unheeded.

Pakistan dismissed the accusation that it had deed a hospital, saying its strikes, which were besides conducted successful eastbound Afghanistan, did not deed immoderate civilian sites.

Afghanistan's lawman authorities spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat, successful a station connected X, said the airstrike had deed the infirmary astatine astir 9 p.m. section time, destroying ample sections of the 2,000-bed facility. He said the decease toll had “so far” reached 400 people, portion astir 250 radical had been reported injured.

Local tv stations posted footage connected X showing information forces utilizing flashlights arsenic they carried retired casualties portion firefighters struggled to extinguish flames among the ruins of a building. Fitrat said rescue teams were moving to power the occurrence and retrieve the bodies.

The onslaught came hours aft Afghan officials said the 2 sides exchanged occurrence on their communal border, sidesplitting 4 radical successful Afghanistan, arsenic the deadliest warring betwixt the neighbors successful years entered a 3rd week.

Afghan authorities spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid condemned the onslaught connected X, accusing Pakistan of “targeting hospitals and civilian sites to perpetrate horrors.” In a station earlier the decease toll roseate into the hundreds, helium said those killed and injured were patients astatine the hospital.

“We powerfully condemn this transgression and see specified an enactment to beryllium against each accepted principles and a transgression against humanity,” helium posted.

Pakistan dismisses the allegations

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesman, Mosharraf Zaidi, dismissed the allegations arsenic baseless, saying nary infirmary was targeted successful Kabul.

In a station connected X earlier Afghan officials gave a decease toll, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information said the strikes “precisely targeted subject installations and violent enactment infrastructure including method instrumentality retention and ammunition retention of Afghan Taliban” and Afghanistan-based Pakistani militants successful Kabul and Nangarhar, saying the facilities were being utilized against guiltless Pakistani civilians.

It said Pakistan’s targeting was “precise and cautiously undertaken to guarantee nary collateral harm is inflicted.” The ministry said Mujahid’s assertion was “false and misleading” and aimed astatine stirring sentiment and screen what it described arsenic ”illegitimate enactment for cross-border terrorism.”

UN calls connected Afghanistan to combat militants

The onslaught came hours aft the U.N. Security Council called connected Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to instantly measurement up efforts to combat terrorism. Pakistan accuses Kabul of harboring militant groups, peculiarly the Pakistani Taliban, which it says transportation retired attacks wrong Pakistan.

The Security Council resolution, adopted unanimously, didn’t sanction Pakistan but condemns “in the strongest presumption each violent enactment including violent attacks.” The solution besides extends the U.N. governmental ngo successful Afghanistan, UNAMA, for 3 months.

Pakistan’s authorities accuses Afghanistan of providing harmless haven to the Pakistani Taliban, which is designated arsenic a violent enactment by the United States, arsenic good arsenic to outlawed Baloch separatist groups and different militants who often people Pakistani information forces and civilians crossed the country. Kabul denies the charge.

The latest conflict

The warring — the astir terrible betwixt the 2 neighbors — began successful precocious February aft Afghanistan launched cross-border attacks successful effect to Pakistani airstrikes wrong Afghanistan that Kabul said killed civilians. The clashes disrupted a ceasefire brokered by Qatar successful October aft earlier warring killed dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants.

Pakistan has declared it is successful “open war” with Afghanistan. The struggle has alarmed the planetary community, peculiarly arsenic the country is 1 wherever different militant organizations, including al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, inactive person a beingness and person been trying to resurface.

On Sunday, Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the subject has killed 684 Afghan Taliban forces, a assertion rejected by Afghanistan, which says casualties are acold lower. Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry and different officials person said Afghanistan has killed much than 100 Pakistani soldiers.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said Afghanistan’s Taliban medication crossed a “red line” by deploying drones that injured respective civilians successful Pakistan past week.

Responding to those attacks, Pakistan’s aerial unit implicit the play struck instrumentality retention sites and “technical enactment infrastructure” successful Afghanistan’s confederate Kandahar Province, saying it was being utilized for attacks wrong Pakistan. Kabul said Pakistan deed 2 locations, including an bare information tract and a cause rehabilitation halfway that sustained insignificant damage.

In Kabul, Afghanistan’s administrative Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi said defending sovereignty is the work of each citizens. Speaking during a gathering with governmental analysts and media figures, Hanafi expressed regret implicit civilian casualties successful caller Pakistani attacks, saying the warfare was imposed connected Afghanistan.

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Ahmed reported from Islamabad and Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Associated Press writers Edith M. Lederer astatine the United Nations and Riaz Khan successful Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed.

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