An earthquake left at least 12 dead and injured on Monday (January 17th) in western Afghanistan, local authorities said.
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The victims died when their homes in Qadis district, Badghis province, collapsed, district governor Mohammad Saleh Purdel told AFP.
The quake was 5.3 magnitude according to the United States Seismological Institute (USGS), which initially reported a magnitude of 5.6.
"
There were also injuries in the earthquake
," said the Afghan official, indicating that women and children were among the victims.
Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain range which lies at the junction between the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
These earthquakes can be particularly devastating due to the low resistance of buildings in Afghanistan.
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