6.3 magnitude quake rocks northeast Afghanistan: USGS

Kabul: A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck northeast Afghanistan around midnight on Friday injuring at least 30 people, officials and the US Geological Survey said.

The temblor that shook northeast Afghanistan where it borders Pakistan and Tajikistan, they added.

The quake, which measured 203.5 kilometres (126 miles) deep, struck about 280 kilometres northeast of the Afghan capital Kabul at 11:44 pm (1914 GMT), the USGS said on its website.

It caused buildings to sway in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, an AFP journalist said, and Twitter users as far away as New Delhi said they felt the quake's impact.

In October, a 7.5-magnitude quake ripped across Pakistan and Afghanistan, killing almost 400 people and flattening buildings in rugged terrain that impeded relief efforts.

For many in Pakistan, October's quake brought back traumatic memories of a 7.6-magnitude quake that struck in October 2005, killing more than 75,000 people and displacing some 3.5 million.

Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which lies near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.