Afghanistan earthquake kills at least 1,000 people, officials say

A magnitude 6 earthquake in eastern Afghanistan killed at least 1,000 people Wednesday morning. The earthquake’s tremors were felt over 310 miles by 119 million people across the country.

The 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit the Paktika province of the country, just 10 months after the chaotic U.S. withdrawal and the departure of most of the international community from the region following last summer's Taliban takeover, which complicates efforts to offer relief to the nation's 38 million people.

The death toll was given by Afghan emergency official Sharafuddin Muslim. Wednesday's earthquake was the deadliest since 2002, when a 6.1 magnitude temblor killed about 1,000 people in northern Afghanistan immediately following the U.S.-led efforts to overthrew the Taliban government following the 9/11 attacks.