Pakistani Airstrikes Hit Taliban-Run Hope Camp for Addicts, Witnesses Report 200 Killed

Pakistani fighter jets dropped at least three bombs on Hope Camp, a Taliban-run rehabilitation center for drug addicts with a 2,000-bed capacity, around 9 p.m. on Monday, 26 Hoot 1404 solar Hijri (March 17, 2025), witnesses said. The attack killed around 200 people and wounded hundreds, according to sources at the camp. About 1,200 people were present at the facility that day.

One bomb struck the large detox hangar, where around 500 short-term addicts were gathered, witnesses told Amu TV. Eyewitnesses described the hangar catching fire and its roof collapsing after the strike, with flames and the smell of burning human flesh filling the area. Most of the dead and wounded came from this section, sources said.

Two other bombs hit containers along the camp's southern wall, where about 50 addicts awaiting discharge after completing treatment were housed. Witnesses reported hearing screams for help from inside the containers but being unable to assist amid the fires. The camp's adolescent section, housing 40 to 50 young addicts in smaller rooms next to the hangar, was completely burned, with sources saying none survived.

Hope Camp, built during the former Afghan Republic era under the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs for vocational training of recovering addicts, is now administered by the Taliban's Vice Ministry of Counter-Narcotics. Witnesses said the facility is located alongside three Taliban military centers, including the Bahir Center, which produces Taliban unmanned aerial vehicles.