New Delhi, Nov. 3 -- A powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck near one of Afghanistan's largest cities in the wee hours of Monday.

The quake was detected near the city of Mazar-i-Sharif and the town of Khulm, and struck at a depth of 23 kilometres, as per the National Center for Seismology (NCS).

Given the timing of the earthquake, which struck at at 1 am local time, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) warned that it could be deadly.

"Significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread. Past events with this alert level have required a regional or national level response," the USGS was quoted as saying by CNN.

Afghanistan is no stranger to deadly earthquakes, having seen major ones in the recent past....