At least 20 people were killed and 534 injured in a earthquake of magnitude 6.3 that struck on Monday northern Afghanistantwo months after a deadly earthquake in the east of the country, authorities reported.
The earthquake occurred around 1:00 a.m. local time (8:30 p.m. GMT on Sunday) with its epicenter in Kholm, in the province of Samangan, and had a depth of 28 kilometers, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
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“According to the information we have at the moment, 534 people were injured and more than 20 martyrs were transferred to hospitals in Samangan and Balkh provinces,” said Sharafat Zaman, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health.
In Mazar-i-Sharif, a large city in the north of the country in the Balkh region, the Blue Mosque, a 15th-century architectural jewel with vibrant tiles, was damaged by the earthquake, an AFP journalist observed.
Parts of its structure, especially one of its minarets, fell off and were scattered around the well-known temple, one of the few tourist sites in Afghanistan, according to the journalist.
The press was not initially allowed to capture images of the mosque.
An Afghan woman and her children sit in a makeshift camp after fleeing their homes following an earthquake, in Nurgal district, Kunar province, on September 4, 2025. Photo: STRINGER / AFP
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The Defense Ministry said it had cleared and reopened the main road between Mazar-i-Sharif and Kholm, blocked by landslides, and rescued people who were trapped in the early hours of the morning.
However, it is still necessary to restore electricity supply in several provinces after damage to power lines from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, reported the public electricity company Dabs.
“Many houses were destroyed and significant economic losses were recorded,” the deputy spokesman for the Taliban government, Hamdullah Fitrat, declared in X, and specified that he had ordered the “competent authorities to distribute medical and food aid and help the victims.”
Poor communication networks and lack of infrastructure often complicate emergency responses in mountainous areas. It often takes hours or days for authorities to reach remote sites to assess the damage.
