The death toll from a series of earthquakes in western Afghanistan rose sharply Sunday to more than 2,000 as rescuers scrabbled for survivors among the ruins of villages razed to the ground.
Saturday's magnitude 6.3 quake -- followed by eight strong aftershocks -- jolted hard-to-reach areas 30 kilometres northwest of the provincial capital of Herat, toppling rural homes and sending panicked city dwellers surging into the streets.
