New Delhi, Sept. 1 -- At least 600 people have been killed and over 1000 injured in an earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan on Monday, the country's state-run broadcaster Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) reported. Taliban-led health authorities in Kabul, however, said they were still confirming the official toll figure as they worked to reach remote areas.

Near the epicentre in the east of the country, "610 people were killed and 1,300 were injured in Kunar province, with numerous houses destroyed", spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani told AFP, adding that in neighbouring Nangarhar province 12 people were killed and another 255 injured.

Meanwhile, three villages were razed in the province of Kunar. Nurgal, Chawkay and Watapur were the d...