The Taliban has appealed for international aid after a powerful earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 1,000 people.

The 6.1-magnitude earthquake – the country's deadliest in two decades – destroyed at least 2,000 homes and flattened hundreds of villages.

Around 1,500 people were injured in the quake – which struck the province of Paktika on Tuesday night.

The Taliban's supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada called on international NGOs to 'spare no effort' to help those affected 'by this great tragedy'.

Homes have been reduced to rubble after the tremors, with bodies swathed in blankets lying on the ground in the eastern Pakitka province.

The United Nations' humanitarian agency was scrambling to get emergency shelter, trauma care and food aid to the scene, and said the death toll is expected to rise even further.