About 800 people have lost their lives and 2,500 have been injured in Konar province, Zabihullah Mujahid said at a press conference in Kabul.

In Nangarhar province, 12 people were killed and 255 wounded, he added.

The earthquake occurred in a remote mountainous area, so"it will take time to obtain accurate information about human casualties and damage to infrastructure," said Sharafat Zaman, a spokesman for the Afghan Health Ministry.

"We have launched a massive rescue operation and mobilized hundreds of people to help people in the affected areas," Zaman said.

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border late Sunday at 11:47 p.m., with its epicenter 27 kilometers east-northeast of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province. The hypocenter was just eight kilometers deep.