Strong earthquake hits Afghanistan

A strong earthquake of magnitude 5

A strong earthquake of magnitude 5.6 struck northeastern Afghanistan today, but caused no casualties or damage, a government official said.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said on its website the quake's epicentre was at a depth of 208 km (130 miles).

The quake occurred at about 6am local time and was also felt in the capital, Kabul, some 260 km (160 miles) from the epicentre lying to the south of the city of Faizabad of northeastern Badakhshan province.

Mountainous Afghanistan is an earthquake-prone country.

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Thousands of people were killed by earthquakes in northern Badakhshan province in the late 1990s.

In 2002 at least 1,500 people were killed when a series of quakes of between magnitude 5 and 6 struck northern Baghlan province in the Hindu Kush mountains, destroying the district capital of Nahrin.

Reuters