At least 1,000 people were killed and at least another 1,500 were injured after a magnitude 5.9 earthquake rocked eastern Afghanistan.

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An earthquake rocked eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing at least 1,000 people, injuring 1,500 more and destroying homes and other buildings in the rugged, mountainous region.

Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada told the state-run Bakhtar News Agency the death toll from the magnitude 5.9 temblor near the Pakistani border was likely to rise. Hundreds of homes and other buildings were destroyed, he said.

The quake, centered 25 miles southwest of Khost, struck at about 1:24 a.m. local time, when many people were sleeping in their homes. The European seismological agency estimated the earthquake’s tremors were felt over 300 miles by 119 million people across Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

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