The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has put the death toll at 143 in Pakistan’s strike on a drug rehabilitation facility in Kabul, significantly lower than figures reported by Taliban, according to Reuters.
Quoted by Reuters, a UN official said that UNAMA had verified 143 deaths from the March 16 strike, which hit the Omid rehabilitation center in eastern Kabul.
Taliban officials have said more than 400 people were killed and about 250 others wounded, though those figures have not been independently verified.
Pakistan has denied targeting a civilian facility, saying its forces “precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure.”
The strike is part of escalating cross-border clashes between Taliban and Pakistan, now in their third week, raising concerns about civilian casualties and regional stability.
UNAMA has previously said the rehabilitation center was “impacted” in the strike and reported dozens of casualties, without confirming whether it was directly targeted.
An investigation by Amu TV found that at least three bombs struck the compound, including the main hangar and adjacent container housing units, where hundreds of patients were present at the time.
Witnesses described heavy casualties inside the main hangar, while nearby Taliban military facilities appeared largely undamaged, raising questions about the intended target of the strike.
The United Nations had earlier reported at least 76 civilian deaths and more than 200 injuries across Afghanistan since the start of the latest escalation in late February.
