#Kabul

A powerful, 6.3 magnitude earthquake shook northern Afghanistan before dawn Monday, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 500 others, a health official said, adding the numbers could increase.

The US Geological Survey said the quake’s epicentre was located 22 kilometres (14 miles) west-southwest of the town of Khulm, and that it struck at 12:59 a.m. at a depth of 28 kilometres (17 miles).

Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health, said 534 injured people and 20 bodies had been brought to hospitals in Balkh and Samangan provinces. Rescuers were on the scene and the figures were changing, he added.

In the province of Badakhshan, the quake partially or completely destroyed 800 houses in one village in the Shahr-e-Bozorg district, said Ihsanullah K

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