At least 12 people were killed and many others injured after a magnitude 5.6 earthquake hit Afghanistan's western province of Badghis on Monday, a local official has said.

"The worst-hit areas were Badruk, Darband-e-Safed and Khak Polak localities in Qadis district, east of the provincial capital Qala-e-Naw," Xinhua news agency quoted district chief Mohammad Saleh Purdil.