Afghan Earthquake leaves 2,000 dead

[internet police]

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Officials in Afghanistan say the death toll from a powerful earthquake that shook western parts of the country on Saturday has risen to more than 2,000.

The Taliban-led Ministry of Natural Disasters confirmed the death toll in a statement Sunday, saying more than 1,300 houses were completely destroyed in the quake.

Naeemul Haq, the head of the Taliban-led information and media center in Herat province, said in a statement that more than 2,000 people were injured in the magnitude 6.3 quake. He added that rescue operations continued and said the number of victims is expected to increase further.

The earthquake struck Herat, a western province bordering Iran, at about 11 a.m. Saturday morning. Its epicenter was located near Zinda Jan, a district in central Herat.

At least eight powerful aftershocks rattled the province within five hours and affected villages across three districts, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. It described as serious the condition of many of those injured.

Taliban officials told a meeting of humanitarian organization representatives Sunday that the calamity had flattened more than a dozen villages housing around 3,000 families.