Afghanistan quake kills 920 people, deadliest in 2 decades

By FAZEL RAHMAN FAIZI
Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A powerful earthquake struck a rural, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border, killing at least 920 people and injuring another 600 others. The 6.1 magnitude quake Wednesday was the deadliest temblor to strike Afghanistan in two decades. Officials warned the death toll would likely rise. Afghan emergency official Sharafuddin Muslim gave the death toll in a news conference. Rescue efforts are likely to be complicated since many international aid agencies left Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover of the country last year and the chaotic withdrawal of the U.S. military from the longest war in its history.