Survivors of a powerful earthquake in northern Afghanistan are digging through the rubble of their homes after spending a bitterly cold night outdoors

Afghanistan's Taliban government says a powerful earthquake in the country's north has killed at least 20 people and left hundreds injured.

KABUL (Reuters) -A powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck near the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif early on Monday, killing at least 20 people, injuring hundreds and damaging the city's historic Blue Mosque, authorities said, with the death toll likely to rise.

A strong, 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck in Afghanistan on Monday, according to the United States Geological Survey. The temblor happened at 12:59 a.m. Afghanistan time about 14 miles southwest of Khulm, Afghanistan, data from the agency shows.

Afghan officials say a powerful, 6.3 magnitude earthquake that shook northern Afghanistan overnight killed at least 20 people

At least seven people were killed after a powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck near a northern Afghan city early on Monday. The earthquake hit Kholm near the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in Hindu Kush at around 12.

Taliban officials said the death toll could rise as rescue teams arrive and assess the damage from the quake, which struck near one of Afghanistan’s largest cities.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney dies, architect of the nation's longest war as he plotted the global response to the 9/11 terror attacks

Relations between the two neighbors hit a low point this month, with fighting killing people on both sides of the border. At issue is a rise in militancy in Pakistan since the Taliban took over Afghanistan.

Cheney served as vice president under President George W. Bush from January 2001 to January 2009. He was a defining figure of the post-9/11 era and a key architect of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. When terrorists attacked the United States on 11 September 2001, Cheney took charge as President Bush was out of Washington.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are expected to resume peace talks in Istanbul to revive a dialogue that collapsed earlier this week, according to Pakistan's defense minister, two officials and state media i