a massive earthquake rocked north eastern afghanistan. the situation is changing by the minute, and tracking it all is our own kris sanchez. chris, we now know among the dozens killed were 12 young girls who died trying to get out of their school? >> they were at their desks when the 12 school children died. they were trying to get out of the building as the earth was moving beneath them. it was just 9:00 in the morning. 40 other children from that school and the surrounding area were also rushed to the hospital there. here's where it had. we're talking about far northern afghanistan. about 150 miles north of the capital city of kabul. you can see people milling about in the streets. folks on cell phones trying to make connections with friends and family and loved ones. the quake was deadly in pakistan as well as afghanistan and the death toll is already close to 50. the early pictures of the damage don't really tell the story. some of the walls crumbles there. we've also seen images of cracked walls as well. and one young girl who was at

the earthquake was sendered in the hindu kooush mountains in north-eastern afghanistan. 388 were killed. richelle carey has more on the quake and the aftermath. >> the earthquake struck during the afghan news cast, forcing the anger to flee. >> outside ambulances race to streets. they carry the windowed into the hospital. inside chaos. in the province, a heart-breaking scene as this man carries the body of a young student. she is one of 12 killed, some died in a stampede. as the children tried to get out of the building. >> this is the strongest earthquake that happened in the country in recent years, in afghanistan, including the center of the country, it indicates losses and property damage. monday's 7.5 quake spread beyond afghanistan into pakistan. hundreds are reported dead. buildings and homes hundreds of miles from the epicentre were reduced to rub. scores of injured and dead arrived at the hospital by car or taxi. >> translation: numbers by increase. the situation looks bad. we declare emergencies in the hospital. we have enough duration and are doing our best. >> in india after

the quake was centered in north-eastern afghanistan. it's affected a wide area. most of the casualties are in the swat valley. kamal hyder is there. >> reporter: brick by brick locals pick up belongings and valuables. rescue and recovery teams are in the area to assess the damage. >> for moment, it was a narrow escape. this man built his house 30 years ago, from savings he and his deceased brother head. he remembers the moment when the strong earthquake struck. >> we were all in our rooms when the earthquake struck. it was shocking for everyone. kids and women were crying, it was like doomsday. we were lucky god saved all of us. >> as we walked through the alleyways, there was the persistent take of aftershocks. authorities began recovery efforts, it's not clear whether it will be enough. >> the person supervising the patient. they are given good treatment, and we have no shortage of that or medicines in the federal government. they have given us maximum support and relief. >> most of the deaths were in the adjoining districts. it could have been worse. were it n

north-eastern afghanistan. the damage caused by a bombing attack is a blow to people who rely on the free life-saving treatment that the hospital provides >>> we can go live to our correspondent who is in kunduz province. and from where you are, what can you tell us about the state of fighting for kunduz. >> we are seeing brutal fighting going on in the streets of kunduz city. we talked to a couple of residents, and they are felling us a lack of food, water, electricity makes lives almost impossible. taliban have told residents that they should leave the area because taliban are planning to stay and fight gains the security forces. now, last night, afghan security forces were telling us that they would launch a big operation and were promising by today they'd clear the area. and the taliban are fighting in kunduz, life is miserable for the locals, and heavy casualties, telling us that hundreds of civilians were killed in the past six days, but they are stuck in their home, they can not move the injured or dead

the doctors without borders is the only specialist trauma center in north-eastern afghanistan. the damage caused by a bombing attack is a blow to people who rely on the free life-saving treatment that the hospital provides >>> we can talk to our correspondent who is in kunduz province. this is increasingly looking like a terrible mistake by u.s. planes with tragic consequences for the people of kunduz. >> yes, very heavy, brutal fighting going on almost in every street of kunduz city. residents are the ones paying the price. civilians are caught in between. they are telling us heavy bombard , use of artillery and machine gun. they don't know where it is controlled by who. in one street it's controlled by taliban, in the next, afghan government. officials told us they'll launch a big occupation to retake kunduz city. it seems they still - there is still heavy fighting in kunduz city. >> it seems that the front lines are blurred and taliban fighter are merging with the civilian population, making it doubly difficult for afghan forces to register in their battle against the taliba

the doctors without borders is the only specialist trauma center in north-eastern afghanistan. the damage caused by a bombing attack is a blow to people who rely on the free life-saving treatment that the hospital provides >>> we can talk to our correspondent who is in kunduz province. this is increasingly looking like an error with tragic results for the people of kunduz. >> as we are talking, the brutal fighting is going on in the kunduz city. people of kunduz stuck in between the two sides are calling us, begging us to report about them, telling us there's no more chance that they can survive from heavy bombardment from both sides. shortage of food, water, electricity and other problems are what they are facing. i talked with one person who lived in kunduz city, telling me that he could see his brother, injured brother laying in the street. and the dead body of his cousin, he is not able to remove them from there because both sides are opening fire to any movement in the city. they are telling us that there is not a firm line between the two sides. you don't know who is ther

the doctors without borders is the only specialist trauma center in north-eastern afghanistan. the damage caused by a bombing attack is a blow to people who rely on the free life-saving treatment that the hospital provides >>> we are joined live from kunduz province, the bombing of the hospital is proof of how civilians bear the pursuant of fighting between the taliban and the afghan government forces. >> it is heavy fighting, brutal heavy fighting is going on in the city of kunduz. civilians seem to be the biggest victim of this war. the residents of kunduz city saying the taliban told them to leave. but only those people that can afford to leave, have the money for it. because rent from kunduz city is very, very expensive. let me step out of the shot. it's the main highway. there's one dreads of family. we see children that they are leaving. it is very, very dramatic scene here in northern afghanistan. >> so if people are bility leave the city. want those that are not. how are they coping with the fighting? >> only those people could leave. many people have problem with a sho

also talking about where most of the deaths are being reported in the more rural areas, north eastern afghanistan. these are rural areas. there are landslides being reported as well associated with the earthquake. >> what about after shocks? >> and there have been some after shocks too. 4.7 and 4.8. so people are trying to assess the damage at the same time the shaking is continuing. but yeah. the latest death toll 180 is where it stands. they are having trouble with communication. the the land lines, the phone lines. many of them have been cut off. we can't get solid information from these rural parts of these countries they are still waiting to get an accurate assessment of how bad the damage is. >> here at home fremont is very large afghan population. so no doubt people here in the bay area concerned for their loved ones. >> and to that end i soak with a gentleman i worked with on stories before. he is from afghanistan originally. and part of the afghan community we have in fremont enthe enthe-- and in the east bay. he was just waking up. hadn't even heard about the earthquake yet. >> what kin

the best hospital in north eastern afghanistan and the only one of a certain standard in kunduz wherentinues inside the city still, and during the week, the first week of fighting in kunduz after taliban seized the city, they've treated 400 people. now the city is without a proper facility to treat people. now when it comes to opinions about the air strike? people are a little bit split. the afghan government officials say that the taliban were fighting from inside the compound. now, the american military haven't said that, and others rebuke that. that statement has wrapped off on some people who think the taliban where the main responsibility for the attack. and the afghans also say this is a solely u.s. responsibility, this this hospital was destroyed, and anger, especially in kunduz, where anger is mounting toward international and government troops, and there is already a lot of animosity toward the government. >> so locals spreading the there's an improved relationship between the u.s. and afghanistan, thanks in large part to the country's new president. has this incident put a s

instead they will stay here in kabul, north of kabul, in eastern afghanistan, and kandahar.e u.s. maintaining a presence around afghanistan through 2017. the afghan officials welcoming this move, saying it will help, not only with any current situation with the taliban, but also with the fight against terrorism. the taliban have been fighting not only in the north, but managed to take control of the main highway between kandahar and kabul this week. they made an attempt to overrun gozny city. that was repelled by afghan security forces. the taliban very much making their presence known, and the fact that american forces will remain here through next year, and -- and beyond, i think will be very much welcomed not only by the afghan government, but by the afghan security forces. >>> al jazeera's national security contributor, mike lyons says keeping the troops there is the right move. >> i'm returning back to the future of the taliban reinforcing along the border with pakistan. we have got to fix that relationship as well. and then the second aspect is isis, i think they conti

it was centered in north eastern afghanistan when it struck monday afternoon local time.inue to stay outdoors. at least 306 people died in the quake. to get a better sense of how this quake is affecting the area, i spoke with our meteorologist, pedram javaheri, at the world weather center earlier. you've been telling us how deep this earthquake was. at the same time, it was felt by some 40 million people in several countries in the region. how is that possible? >> it's incredible. when you think about quakes, and this one was over 200 kilometers deep. when you go down that deep, tremendous pressure and heat in place. these quakes as they occur, generate enough heat to where temperature spikes beneath your feet on the order of 1,000 degrees occur in one or two seconds. that allows the rocks to become melted quickly and then you have the expansion of energy, and then you have a lot of people feeling a quake that occurred in a remote area but extremely deep. >> let's look at this. one of the great ways to understand this quake is how the plates slammed together and caused it

the epicenter of the quake was in north eastern afghanistan, but the majority of deaths have been reportedn. hospitals on both sides are overrun with hundreds of injured. >> i was working at a rice shop. as i walked out, the building collapsed and both my legs were trapped under rubble. >> reporter: helicopters loaded with food and medical supplies are flying to help those left stranded in the rugged mountains, but complicating aid efforts, some of those areas hardest hit lay in territory controlled by the tall ban. the leaders of afghanistan and pakistan are calling on their -- >> i demand my fellow countrymen to help each other if they're in the affected areas. >> reporter: thousands spent time outdoors too afraid to go back inside for fear of aftershock and with the death toll expected to climb, survivors face tough conditions in a region where snow has begun to fall in some areas. >> we'll take a short break. coming up, they expected to be executed but instead, dozens of men were saved from brutal captivity in iraq. their story, up next. >>> plus a new study warns that the persian gulf

north afghanistan. seven people died in eastern armed group when their houses collapsed. enter was 150 miles northeast of here, a very large earthquake. there are about 140 people injured around the country. in northern afghanistan, in eastern afghanistan, in central afghanistan, so really, quite a big magnitude quake. >> describe where you were and what felt when this quake hit. >> we were here in kabul in the office when it happened, and even though the epicenter is 160 miles northeast of here, we could feel it very strongly. everybody on our street, on adjacent streets came running out into the street. you don't want to be inside a building. it was quite a powerful quake opinion the believes were shaking, cars were actually rocking back and forth and it went on for quite a long time, for a minute. we've seen be pictures around kabul with large shopping centers, with hundred was thousands of people emptying out on to the street. thankfully here in kabul, the damage seems to be pretty minimal. >> what about the damage to the infrastructure that you're hearing about around

of violence from the middle eastern heartland, if you will, right through north africa, into sub-saharan africa and right across in the other direction as far as afghanistane longer you play the game of kicking the can down the road, the more the conflict escalates, and the spillovers ultimately will reach this country, make no mistake. they're already being felt in europe, in the form of a huge refugee crisis. but i'm more worried about the way that terrorism is being spread internationally on an unprecedented scale. that ultimately is going to be brought home to the united states. there's no use pretending otherwise. >> niall, really important points that you're making. and now, of course, we also see the president back tracking, and keeping the troops in afghanistan. niall, love to have you on this program. please come back soon. thanks very much for your insights this morning. >> thanks, maria. >> niall ferguson joining us there. >>> top of the hour, media buzz, howie, good morning to you. >> good morning, maria. we'll look at whether the press began swooning over hillary clinton after her strong democratic debate performance and the odds of joe biden

eastern afghanistan is substantially a different story. there is far less sympathy and support for the central government. in the north, and west afghanistan there is overwhelming support in the pool and urban areas for the government. of course that is on the mind of local corrupt leaders. in kunduz you have a northern city that has an enormously high pushtun population that is experiencinging -- corruption from a local leader. that is a different set of vaccinations to the ethnic aspect. that is not to do with ideological positions. that has to do with people hating low-level corruption. is enoughle there support for the government to justify nato support to the government. it's not like were supporting the government which is built on the sand. we should be clear that in the rural areas of southern and eastern afghanistan, that is rather has to be a political solution because there is not simply as much support for government there as in other areas of afghanistan. host: st. paul, minnesota. william? caller: good morning c-span. -- i'm going to get under case a little bit but i think we need to drop the democratic