More than 400 people were killed and 265 wounded in an airstrike by Pakistan on ​a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul, a spokesman of the Afghan Taliban government said on Tuesday, a sharp escalation in the conflict between the neighbours.

Pakistan rejected the statement as ‌false and misleading and said it had “precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure” on Monday night.

The airstrike came hours after China said it remained ready to continue efforts to ease tensions between the South Asian Islamic nations and urged both to avoid expanding the war and return to the negotiating table.

The conflict that began last month is the worst between the neighbours, who share a 2,600-km (1,600-mile) border.

Drug Rehab Centre Used to be NATO Training Base

Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy spokesman for the Taliban, ​said in a post on X that the airstrike took place at 9 pm (1630 GMT) on Monday and targeted the state-run Omid Hospital, which he said was a 2,000-bed drug rehabilitation centre.

The Pakistani ​information ministry said Omid Hospital was miles away from Camp Phoenix, the “military terrorist ammunition and equipment storage site” that it said was targeted.

“The visible secondary detonations ⁠after the strikes clearly indicate the presence of large ammunition depots,” Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said in a post on X.

Kabul residents, including a Reuters journalist, said Camp Phoenix, an abandoned NATO military ​base in the city, was converted into a drug treatment centre, opens new tab about a decade ago, and locals referred to it as Omid Camp, or “camp of hope”, although its official name was “Ibn Sina Drug Addiction Treatment Hospital.”

It was ​this centre that had been hit, they said, adding that Omid Hospital and Omid Camp were not related.

Fierce fighting between the former close allies erupted last month with Pakistani air strikes in Afghanistan that Islamabad said targeted militant strongholds.

Islamabad says Kabul provides a safe haven to militants launching attacks on Pakistan. The Taliban deny the allegation, saying tackling militancy is Pakistan’s internal problem.

‘It was like DOOMSDAY’, says a Survivor’

At the site of the airstrike, a blackened single-storey structure bore the marks ​of flames. In other places, buildings were reduced to heaps of wood and metal, with only a few bunk beds still intact in some, while blankets, personal belongings and bedding were strewn about.

Afghan Interior ​Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qanie said 408 people were killed and 265 wounded. Afghan authorities said the dead and the wounded were taken to hospitals around Kabul but did not give details of how many bodies had been recovered ‌and how ⁠the casualties had been counted.

Those killed were mostly civilians and addicts, added Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

Reuters could not verify the casualty numbers. Throughout the conflict, both sides have claimed to have inflicted heavy damage on the other but independent verification has not been possible.

The Norwegian Refugee Council, an independent aid group, said its staff had seen large numbers of casualties.

“We visited the hospital treating addicts in Kabul this morning and found hundreds of civilians dead and injured,” it said in a statement. “Civilians and civilian infrastructure must never be targeted.”

Witnesses said they heard three bombs exploding just as people in the centre were completing evening prayers, and that two ​of them struck rooms and patient areas.

“The whole ​place caught fire. It was like doomsday,” said Ahmad, 50, who said he was under treatment at the facility and gave only his first name. “My friends were burning in the fire, and we could not save them all.”

Map of Kabul showing Kabul International Airport on the left and a hospital marked with a red explosion icon on the right, indicating the reported air strike location.

Roads, rivers, and a 500 m scale bar and north arrow are included.

Map of Kabul showing Kabul International Airport on the left and a hospital marked with a red explosion icon on the right, indicating the reported air strike location. Roads, rivers, and a 500 m scale bar and north arrow are included.

China appeals for calm, India condemns strike

The spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister called the Afghan reference to drug users being targeted “constant lies” and said Pakistan’s “counterterrorism ​operations” would continue for as long as it took to eliminate “terrorists and their infrastructure”.

China once again appealed for calm and restraint and also to ensure ​the safety of Chinese personnel, ⁠projects and institutions in the region.

“China … will continue to play a constructive role through its own channels to de-escalate tensions and improve relations between the two countries," said Lin Jian, a foreign ministry spokesman.

Pakistan’s arch-rival India, which has recently forged close ties with the Afghan Taliban, said it unequivocally condemned the strike.

“That this attack was carried out during the holy month of Ramzan, a time of peace, reflection, and mercy among Muslim communities across the ⁠world, makes it ​all the more reprehensible,” the Indian foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

The conflict had ebbed amid efforts by friendly countries​, including China, to mediate, but flared again just days before the Eid al-Fitr festival that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.