Hundreds killed as 6.0 magnitude earthquake strikes Afghanistan, officials say

The quake hit about 17 miles east of Jalalabad, near the border with Pakistan.

LONDON -- A 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, destroying several villages and killing hundreds, according to a local official and the United Nations mission.

More than 600 people were killed and more than 1,300 were injured in the Kunar province, Mufti Abdul Matin Qani, spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior, told Afghan media early on Monday. Another dozen people were killed in the Nangarhar province, he said.

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan said in a statement its staffers were "deeply saddened" by the "devastating" quake, which "claimed hundreds of lives, injuring many more."

The powerful earthquake struck about 17 miles east of Jalalabad, near the border with Pakistan just before midnight, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

The Afghan health minister said that several villages in the Nurgal district of Kunar -- including Sholt, Arit, Mamagal, Wadir and others -- had been all but destroyed. Others suffered significant damage, the minister said.

Some of the injured had been evacuated and rescue efforts were ongoing, the ministry said.

"Sadly, tonight's earthquake has caused loss of life and property damage in some of our eastern provinces," Zabihullah Mujahid, a government spokesperson, said in a post on social media.

Mujahid said support teams from nearby provinces had been dispatched to the area.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

ABC News' Will Gretsky contributed to this report.