NEW DELHI: The death toll from an earthquake in Afghanistan on Wednesday hit 1,000, disaster management officials said, with more than 600 injured and the toll is expected to grow as information trickles in from remote mountain villages. A foreign ministry spokesman said the Taliban would welcome international help.

The deadliest earthquake to strike the country in two decades is a major challenge for the Taliban, the Islamist movement which regained power last year after the Western-backed government collapsed.

Southeastern Paktika province has been the worst hit and the UN is scrambling to provide emergency shelter and food aid.
Rescue efforts are being hampered by heavy rain and a lack of resources.

Adding to the challenge for Afghan authorities is recent flooding in many regions, which has blocked stretches of highway.
Afghanistan is also grappling with a severe economic crisis. In response to the Taliban takeover last year, many countries imposed sanctions on Afghanistan's banking sector and cut billions of dollars in development aid.

Afghanistan is in the midst of a humanitarian and economic crisis, and Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a senior Taliban official, said the government was "financially unable to assist the people to the extent that is needed".

Aid agencies, neighbouring countries and world powers were helping, he said, but added: "The assistance needs to be scaled up to a very large extent because this is a devastating earthquake which hasn't been experienced in decades."

The head of the United Nations, António Guterres said the agency had "fully mobilized" over the disaster. Health teams, medical supplies, food, and emergency shelters were en route to the quake zone, UN officials said.

US President Joe Biden directed the US Agency for International Development and other federal government partners to assess US response options, the White House said.