The United Nations has rejected Taliban claims that 400 people were killed in a Pakistani airstrike on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul, saying instead that “dozens” were killed or wounded.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has not yet released precise casualty figures.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the UN mission made no reference to the rehabilitation centre being directly targeted in the Pakistani strikes.
UNAMA said the drug treatment facility in Kabul was “affected” by the airstrike.
Findings by Afghanistan International indicate that the site targeted in Pakistan’s airstrike in eastern Kabul on Monday night was a former NATO base where a drug rehabilitation centre had been established about 10 years ago.
Evidence suggests that for around three years, the Taliban had been using the facility to manufacture suicide drones.
In the early hours of the airstrike, a resident of eastern Kabul told Afghanistan International that “next to the drug treatment camp, a Taliban drone manufacturing facility was targeted in an airstrike”.
Several local residents also said that the main target was the “intelligence directorate of the Taliban’s Defence Ministry”.
Hamdullah Fitrat, the Taliban’s deputy spokesperson, said Pakistan had attacked the Omid camp, a drug rehabilitation centre, claiming that 400 people were killed and 250 others wounded.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar described the incident as a “precise operation” and said facilities and infrastructure supporting terrorism had been targeted.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has not yet released independent casualty figures.
Findings by Afghanistan International suggest that both a drug rehabilitation centre and a suicide drone production facility were located at the site of the strike. The incident raises the possibility that the Taliban may have used civilians undergoing treatment as human shields for a drone manufacturing facility, a decision that may have led to dozens of deaths in the airstrike.
The use of civilians as human shields violates international humanitarian law and constitutes a war crime, as it deliberately endangers civilian lives.
Pakistan has also been accused of failing to observe the principle of proportionality in its attack. International humanitarian law requires parties to a conflict to ensure proportionality in their operations.
What happened in Kabul and Nangarhar on Monday night?
Sources told Afghanistan International that Pakistani air forces targeted a total of nine sites in Kabul and Nangarhar on Monday night. Five targets in Kabul including in Sarak-e-Naw, Chaman-e-Hozori, Darul Aman, Shah Shaheed and Karte Naw, and four others in the districts of Achin, Nazian, Goshta and Ghani Khil in Nangarhar were struck.
Taliban authorities allowed local journalists to widely cover one of the incidents in Shah Shaheed, Kabul, granting access to the bombing site.
Findings by Afghanistan International indicate that “Camp Phoenix” was the main target of the airstrike.
Camp Phoenix was a large US and NATO military base in eastern Kabul near Pul-e-Charkhi and the Kabul–Jalalabad highway. After the withdrawal of foreign forces in 2014–2015, it was handed over to the Afghan government and later fell to the Taliban after August 2021.
In 2016, the former Afghan government converted Camp Phoenix into a drug rehabilitation facility named “Hope Revival Centre”.
The Hope Revival Centre in eastern Kabul, which was damaged in the Pakistani airstrike, later became a dual-use site. After the Taliban returned to power, they used facilities at Camp Phoenix, alongside the rehabilitation centre, as a suicide drone production site.
The British newspaper Daily Mail reported on June 7, 2025, that the Taliban had established a suicide drone manufacturing facility at Camp Phoenix. The report said construction of drones at the site had begun at least as early as 2023.
According to the report, the base had been transformed into a covert production line for unmanned combat drones.
The Taliban were reportedly modelling several drone types, including the US MQ-9 Reaper and the Iranian Shahed-136.
Taliban engineers at Camp Phoenix, some of whom studied at Kabul University’s engineering faculty, were working to increase the drones’ range and explosive payload.
Pakistan and Western countries were aware of drone development at the site.
The project raised concerns among Western intelligence agencies, as the Taliban appeared to be developing advanced drones capable of striking targets beyond Afghanistan’s borders.
Al-Qaida-linked engineer assisting Taliban drone programme
The Daily Mail also reported that the presence of an engineer linked to the Al-Qaida network at the Taliban drone facility had increased concerns.
The engineer is said to have studied in the United Kingdom. Following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, training camps for Al-Qaida and other militant groups have reportedly become active again in Afghanistan.
Engineers involved in the project are considered highly valuable and are provided with personal security.
“Drones instead of bread”
The Diplomat magazine reported on March 5, 2026, that the Taliban are actively developing indigenous drones. Assembly is said to take place at Camp Phoenix near Kabul, while testing occurs in Logar province.
The programme reportedly draws on experience from Turkiye, China, Russia and Iran and uses civilian components such as GPS systems, engines and sensors sourced from black markets.
The Taliban possess some of the necessary conditions for developing a drone industry. Infrastructure left behind from NATO bases and technical expertise gained over decades of war have created capabilities. Taliban military engineers are able to assemble and modify drones without direct foreign assistance. Taliban officials have also emphasised the need to train domestic specialists.
Taliban drone attacks on Pakistan
In recent months, the Taliban have, for the first time, used suicide drones and quadcopters in attacks on targets in Pakistani cities as part of their conflict with Pakistan. These attacks were carried out in response to Pakistani airstrikes and reached as far as Islamabad.
In March, the Taliban intensified drone attacks on Pakistani cities, including strikes near Islamabad. Areas such as Faizabad and around the capital’s airport, near the Pakistani military headquarters in Rawalpindi, as well as Quetta, Kohat and other locations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, were targeted.
The Taliban’s Defence Ministry has confirmed targeting Pakistani military facilities and inflicting damage.
Pakistan’s military said the Taliban used “rudimentary” drones but added that they were intercepted and destroyed by defence systems before reaching their targets.
The Taliban are not the only group using drones in Pakistan. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has also used drones in attacks against Pakistani security forces.
Credible sources told Afghanistan International that Pakistan carried out airstrikes on nine targets in Kabul and Nangarhar province on Monday night.
According to the sources, five targets in Kabul including in Sarak-e-Naw, Chaman-e-Hozori, Darul Aman, Shah Shaheed and Karte Naw areas were hit, along with four others in the districts of Achin, Nazian, Goshta and Ghani Khil in Nangarhar.
The sources said the targets in Kabul included a technical office linked to Taliban intelligence in Sarak-e-Naw, an intelligence office in Chaman-e-Hozori, an ammunition depot in Darul Aman, a military facility in Shah Shaheed located near a medical centre, and an army protection unit in Karte Naw.
In Nangarhar, the strikes reportedly targeted a border unit in Goshta, a weapons depot in Nazian, a military unit and arms depot in Achin, and part of an army unit in Ghani Khil.
The Taliban said one of the strikes hit a drug rehabilitation centre, claiming that at least 400 people were killed and 250 others wounded. Pakistan, however, said the strikes were precise and targeted military facilities.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has not yet released independent figures or information on the reported attacks.
Residents of Kabul said they heard the sound of a fighter jet followed by at least two powerful explosions across the city at about 8:50 p.m. local time, according to reports shared with Afghanistan International.
Gunfire was later heard in several parts of the capital.
Hamdullah Fitrat, the Taliban’s deputy spokesperson, said Pakistani forces had targeted the Omid drug rehabilitation centre. He claimed that at least 400 people were killed and 250 others wounded in the attack.
Fitrat said around 2,000 people had been undergoing treatment at the facility at the time.
Pakistan denied targeting any medical centre and said its strikes were aimed at “precise military facilities and terrorist support infrastructure” in Kabul and Nangarhar province.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has not yet issued a statement on the reported incident.
Human rights activists have called for an independent and impartial international investigation into the attack.
A video published by Hurriyat, a Taliban-linked outlet, showed a guard at the Omid camp saying a jet had dropped a bomb about 200 metres from the facility. The witness said he was injured by shrapnel from the blast.
Taliban officials say at least four civilians were killed and nine others injured in Pakistani attacks over the past 24 hours in the provinces of Khost, Nuristan, Kunar and Paktika.
Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson for the Taliban, also reported the destruction of civilian homes in the attacks.
Speaking on Monday, March 16, Fitrat said the Pakistani army targeted civilian houses using mortars and artillery.
He added that during overnight attacks in the districts of Sabari, Zazi Maidan and Alisher in Khost province, three children and one woman were killed and nine others were injured.
Fitrat said that in Nari district of Kunar province, a house caught fire after being hit by a mortar shell fired from Pakistan, and that civilian homes were also targeted in the districts of Shkin and Barmal in Paktika province.
The Taliban deputy spokesperson added that Pakistan fired at least 43 mortar rounds into Shkin district of Paktika province, although no casualties were reported there.
Sources told Afghanistan International that Pakistan has invited several prominent political groups opposed to the Taliban to Islamabad. At least two officials confirmed discussions about a possible visit to Pakistan.
An official from one of the military fronts opposing the Taliban confirmed that meetings had been held among political figures opposed to the group, during which Pakistan’s invitation was discussed.
A meeting involving representatives of prominent anti-Taliban groups and officials from the former Afghan government is expected to take place in Islamabad after Eid al-Fitr.
The final list of participants is not yet available.
Pakistan is increasing political pressure alongside military pressure on the Taliban administration in Afghanistan.
Another source said Islamabad aims to expand its political support for Taliban opponents through the meeting and is seeking the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan that includes all ethnic groups, religious communities and women.
Pakistan is said to regret its long-term support for the Taliban and believes its strategy of strategic depth in Afghanistan has failed.
Many Afghan citizens are also struggling with widespread human rights repression, poverty and unemployment.
Pakistan accuses the Taliban of hosting terrorist groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The Taliban deny the claim, but United Nations reports confirm that the TTP maintains a presence in Afghanistan.