Heavy rains in Afghanistan unleash flash floods that kill 12 people

Heavy flooding from seasonal rains in Afghanistan has killed at least 12 people and left dozens missing, according to a Taliban spokesman and local officials.

Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Sunday that around 40 people are missing after the flash flooding late Saturday night in the Jalrez district of Maidan Wardak province, west of Kabul.

He added that all relevant authorities have been ordered to provide necessary assistance to the people in the affected areas.

The provincial governor's office in a statement said that hundreds of homes are either damaged or destroyed and the missing people are believed to be under the rubble of collapsed homes.

The statement also said that hundreds of hectares of agricultural land were washed out and destroyed and the highway between the capital Kabul and the central Bamiyan province is also closed due to the floods.