A powerful magnitude-6.3 earthquake that shook northern Afghanistan before dawn on Monday has killed at least 20 people, injured more than 640 others, and damaged the historic Blue Mosque, officials said.

The number of people killed or injured could rise, officials said.

In the town of Khulm, near the epicentre, people dug through the rubble of collapsed mud-brick homes with shovels and picked through debris to salvage what belongings they could.

Local resident Ahmad Zia said the air was polluted from all the dust that rose from the ruins of houses.

"We pulled the bodies of two people from the rubble, and their funerals will be held today," he said.

Footage on social media from Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province, showed several bricks had fallen from the walls of t

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