At least 100 dead in Afghan Earthquake - UN

At least 100 people were killed in an earthquake that shook a wide area of Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan, the United Nations said today.

UN spokesman Yusuf Hassan said many more were feared dead in the quake, which destroyed five villages in the Nahrin region about 90 miles north of the capital, Kabul.

US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said he understood the death toll may reach 1,800, attributing the information to interim Prime Minister Hamid Karzai.

However, Karzai’s staff said they were unaware of such an estimate.