afghanistan-earthquake-toll-crosses-2000-rescue-operations-going-on

Men dug through rubble with their bare hands and shovels in western Afghanistan on Sunday in desperate attempts to pull victims from the wreckage left by powerful earthquakes that killed at least 2,000 people.Entire villages were flattened, bodies were trapped under collapsed houses and locals waited for help without even shovels to dig out bodies.Living and dead, victims were trapped under rubble, their faces grey with dust.Most people were shocked ... some couldn't even talk. But there were others who couldn't stop crying and shouting, photographer Omid Haqjoo, who visited four villages Sunday, told The Associated Press by phone from Afghanistan's fourth largest city, Herat.Saturday's magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit a densely populated area near Herat. It was followed by strong aftershocks.A Taliban government spokesman on Sunday provided the toll that, if confirmed, would make it one of the deadliest earthquakes to strike the country in two decades.An ea