60 Afghans killed by weeks of snow, rain

At least 60 people have been killed by heavy rain and snow in Afghanistan over the past three weeks, the government's disaster ministry said Wednesday.

Afghanistan has been parched by an unusually dry winter, but the end of the season is normally a time when deadly bad weather -- particularly floods -- batter communities.

"Because of the snow and rains unfortunately sixty compatriots have been martyred and 23 people injured" since February 20, ministry spokesman Janan Sayeq said in a video statement.

About 1,645 houses have been totally or partially ruined and nearly 178,000 livestock killed, he added.

Since the collapse of the US-backed government and the return of the Taliban, foreign aid to Afghanistan has shrunk dramatically, undermining the already impoverished nation's ability to respond to disasters.