At least 1,000 dead after earthquake flattens homes in rural Afghanistan, reports say

PAKTIKA PROVINCE, Afghanistan – At least 1,000 people were killed after a strong earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, a government spokesperson said.

The magnitude 6.1 quake struck a remote and mountainous area near the border with Pakistan, flattening homes and leaving people trapped beneath the rubble.

A Taliban government spokesman said the death toll had risen to 1,000 from its earlier count of around 300 as more information trickled in from rural parts of the Paktika and Khost provinces hit by the temblor. Qari Yusuf Ahmadi, head of the government media and information center, said in an on-camera statement that at least 500 more people were injured.

Read the full NBC News report.