Afghanistan has deployed commando units by airdrop to remote mountain villages devastated by powerful earthquakes this week, as rescue teams struggle to reach survivors in areas cut off by landslides, Reuters reported.

The quakes, including a magnitude 6 tremor on Sunday and a 5.5 aftershock on Tuesday, struck Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, flattening homes and triggering fresh blockages. Authorities report at least 1,411 dead, more than 3,100 injured, and over 5,400 houses destroyed, with the toll expected to rise as people remain trapped. Emergency camps and coordination centers have been set up for evacuations, burials, and aid delivery.

 The UN has appealed for urgent shelter, food, clean water, and medical aid, stressing that fragile housing and recent heavy rains worsened the destruction. Afghanistan’s location on a major fault line makes it highly vulnerable to such disasters, according to Reuters.