At least three people were confirmed dead and 44 other injured persons have been hospitalized following the earthquake that rocked parts of Afghanistan on Tuesday night, spokesman for Public Health Ministry Sharafat Zaman Amar said Wednesday.

Axar.az reports that the official noted that the number of casualties could go up as efforts to collect information from the provinces have been continuing.

According to the official, the quake claimed two lives in the northern Takhar and another in the eastern Laghman provinces.

In the meantime, acting Interior Minister of Afghan caretaker government, Sarajudin Haqqani has instructed concerned bodies to provide humanitarian aid to the affected families.

An earthquake measuring 6.5 magnitude on Richter scale with the epicenter in northern Badakhshan province jolted parts of Afghanistan including the capital city Kabul at 09:17 p.m. local time on Tuesday.