Death Toll Rises in Afghanistan's Paktika Province After Earthquake

The death toll from Tuesday’s earthquake in Afghanistan’s Paktika Province had risen to more than 1,1000, a senior official told the Anadolu Agency on Thursday, June 23.

Abdul Wahid Rayan, a senior Taliban official and director general of state-run Bakhtar News Agency, said at least 1,600 people had been wounded after the 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit a remote region in the east of the country. Tolo also reported the toll was around 1,100 people.

Khalid Zadran, Kabul’s police spokesman, said the earthquake had destroyed over 2,500 homes in the Khost and Paktika provinces.

Homes were destroyed across the Paktika districts of Gayan, Naki, Barmal, and Ziruk, and the Khost district of Spera, according to the country’s disaster management agency.

This video posted by Abdul Wahid Rayan shows damaged building in Paktika province. Credit: Bakhtar News Agency via Storyful