6.3 quake kills more than 20 in Afghanistan, 320 injured

 A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck near the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif early on Monday, killing at least 20 people and injuring about 320, authorities said, with the death toll likely to rise.

The US Geological Survey said the quake hit at a depth of 28 km (17.4 miles) near Mazar-e Sharif, which has a population of about 523,000.

"A total of 150 people injured and seven martyred have been reported and transferred to health centres as of this morning," said Samim Joyanda, the spokesperson for the health department in Samangan, a mountainous northern province near Mazar-e Sharif told Reuters.

The toll was based on hospital reports collected as of Monday morning, he said.

The Afghan Taliban defence ministry said parts of Balkh and Samangan provinces were the most affected, resulting in fatalities among a number of citizens.

Military Rescue and emergency assistance teams reached the area immediately and began operations to rescue people, transport the injured, and assist affected families, it said in a statement.

A British news outlet quoted Sharafat Zaman Amar, spokesperson for the Taliban government health ministry, as saying that more than 20 people have been killed and more than 320 injured.

"Health teams have arrived in the area, and all nearby hospitals have been put on standby," Zaman said in a statement.

The USGS issued an orange alert in its PAGER system, which is an automated system that produces information on the impact of earthquakes, and indicated that "significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread".

Afghanistan is particularly vulnerable to quakes as it lies on two active faults that have the potential to rupture and cause extensive damage.

More than 2,200 people were killed and thousands more injured after a quake and strong aftershocks in the southeast of the war-shattered Islamic country at the end of August.

Past events with this alert level have required a regional or national level response, the system's alert added.

The earthquake destroyed part of the holy shrine of Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh province spokesperson Haji Zaid said, referring to the Blue Mosque.