Powerful 6.3 quake kills 20 in Afghanistan

A strong earthquake killed at least 20 people in northern Afghanistan, authorities said on Monday, just months after another deadly tremor that left the country reeling.

The 6.3-magnitude quake struck overnight at a depth of 28 kilometres (17 miles) with the epicentre near the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, according to the US Geological Survey.

"All the houses were struck and people were hurt," resident Ahmad Khan told AFP in Tashqurghan village as people searched through the rubble.

"We're asking the government to help with reconstruction."

Across Samangan and Balkh provinces "534 people have been injured and more than 20 fatalities have been taken to hospitals", health ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman told journalists.

In Mazar-i-Sharif, one of Afghanistan's largest northern cities, an AFP correspondent saw residents scrambling out into the streets.

The city's famed Blue Mosque, a 15th-century landmark known for its vibrant tiles, was also damaged.

Pieces of the structure, particularly from one of its minarets, broke off and lay scattered across the mosque's grounds, one of the country's few remaining tourist spots.

The culture ministry pledged to immediately take "the necessary measures to assess and repair the damage".

Correspondents in Kabul, around 420 kilometres by road to the south, also felt shaking.

Poor communication networks and infrastructure in mountainous Afghanistan have hampered disaster responses in the past, preventing authorities for hours or even days from reaching far-flung villages to assess the extent of the damage. AFP