Afghanistan quake deadliest in decades, killing over 2,200

Afghan volunteers walk along a hillside, in the aftermath of an earthquake at the Nurgal district of Kunar province on September 2, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan at the weekend rose sharply to more than 2,200 on Thursday, according to a new toll, making it the deadliest in decades to hit the country.

The vast majority of those killed in the magnitude-6.0 earthquake that jolted the mountainous region bordering Pakistan late Sunday were in Kunar province, where 2,205 people died and 3,640 were injured, according to a Taliban government toll.