India, Nov. 3 -- India on Monday rushed relief materials to help victims of a 6.3-magnitude earthquake that hit northern Afghanistan, killing 20 people and injuring hundreds, even as external affairs minister S Jaishankar assured Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi of more assistance.

The quake struck the provinces of Samangan, Balkh and Baghlan early on Monday. This was the second major earthquake to hit Afghanistan since September and India had provided assistance on the earlier occasion too.

Afghanistan's public health ministry reported that more than 20 people were killed and 534 others injured by the temblor, which blocked the Balkh-Samangan highway and damaged dozens of homes and shops in Samangan province.

As in the case ...