A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan early Monday near the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The extent of the damage was not immediately clear. The quake struck just before 1 a.m., the U.S.G.S. reported. Mazar-i-Sharif is a city of about 500,000 people that is known for its magnificent Blue Mosque.
The earthquake is the latest to hit Afghanistan in recent months, including one in late August near the eastern city of Jalalabad that killed at least 1,400 people and injured more than 3,100 others, the authorities said.
Four years after the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan, more than half of the country’s 42 million people are already in need of humanitarian assistance. The country has been further strained by the recent return of many jobless Afghans who were deported from Iran or Pakistan.
At the same time, a sharp drop in foreign aid this year has forced the closure of hundreds of health care facilities and left more people without consistent access to food.
Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh Province, was one of the last major Afghan cities to fall when the Taliban retook power in 2021.
The Blue Mosque, a shrine to a central figure in the Shiite sect of Islam, is a pilgrimage site and a site of celebrations for Nowruz, the Persian New Year.
Mike Ives is a reporter for The Times based in Seoul, covering breaking news around the world.
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