(Xinhua) -- A powerful earthquake struck the Hindu Kush mountains along Afghanistan's northeast border with Pakistan early Friday. God smote them, huh? Prob'ly because they're not religious enough.
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However, local officials refused to speculate on casualties. The quake has also strongly shaken buildings in Afghan capital Kabul and other provinces. Some Kabul residents dashed from their houses in their nightclothes when the houses were shaking. In northern provinces Kunduz and Baghlan, Xinhua reporters said the tremor was strongly felt.
Badakhshan, the most remote area in Afghanistan, is a region prone to earthquakes. Damage reports from this area are often slow because of remoteness and lacking communication facilities. In 1998, a 6.9-magnitude quake in Badakhshan caused mud slides and flooding, killing more than 5,000 people. Another quake left some 1,000 dead in northeast Afghanistan in 2002.