Families Search Coffins at Taliban Mass Funerals for Kabul Drug Rehab Center Airstrike Victims
KABUL (Afghan Verified) -- Families gathered at mass funerals organized by the Taliban at Kabul's Eidgah Mosque are searching through coffins in hopes of identifying loved ones killed in a Pakistani airstrike on the Hope Camp drug rehabilitation center on 26 Hoot.
The Taliban reports 411 deaths from the strike, which caused a massive explosion and fire at the facility also known as Phoenix Camp. The United Nations has confirmed 143 deaths. Pakistan denies striking the drug rehab center, claiming its fighter jets targeted a nearby weapons depot and Taliban drone operations center, and accuses the Taliban of placing military facilities adjacent to civilian sites.
Taliban Ministry of Public Health spokesman Sharaf Zaman confirmed that bodies of some victims remain missing, with families inquiring about their relatives. The Norwegian Refugee Council, which visited the site, reported that the explosion tore many bodies apart, complicating identification efforts. Around 100 bodies were buried in a mass grave in Kabul, with dozens still unidentified.
Among the families searching were Abdul Hai Hamidi looking for his 30-year-old relative Samiullah, Samira Mohammadi seeking her 20-year-old son Aref, and Burhanuddin Kamali searching for 21-year-old Mohammad Isa. Pakistan has not responded to a United Nations request for an independent investigation into the incident, and a temporary ceasefire has ended.
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