AT LEAST 2,000 people have died following two catastrophic earthquakes in Afghanistan, says the Taliban.

The 6.3-magnitude quakes hit western Afghanistan on Saturday, destroying six villages and burying hundreds of civilians in debris.

The Zenda Jan district in the Herat province, near the Iranian border, is understood to have borne the brunt of the disaster.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Disasters, Mullah Janan Sayeeq, told Reuters 2,053 people were killed and 9,240 were injured in the deadliest tremors Afghanistan has seen in two decades.

Of the more than 200 people who died and were brought to different hospitals, most were women and children.

A Herat health department official named Dr Danish told Reuters that bodies had been “taken to several places – military bases, hospitals”.

An estimated 1,329 houses were damaged or destroyed.

Preliminary figures released by the UN on Saturday pointed to a much lower death toll of 320.

The epicentre was about 25 miles northwest of Herat, with three strong aftershocks measuring 6.3, 5.9, and 5.5, according to the United States Geological Survey.

Erfanullah Sharafzoi, a spokesperson for the Afghan Red Crescent, said emergency teams and volunteers were preparing to go to Herat to help victims.

Videos showing hundreds of people in the streets outside their homes and offices in the city have since been shared on social media.

Herat city resident Abdul Shakor Samadi said: “All people are out of their homes. Houses, offices and shops are all empty and there are fears of more earthquakes.

“Me and my family were inside our home, I felt the quake.”

He added his family ran outside and were afraid to go back in.

Another resident, Naseema, said the multiple tremors had caused panic in Herat, adding: “People left their houses, we all are on the streets.”

The USGS stated: “The October 7, 2023 M (magnitude) 6.3 earthquake near Herat, Afghanistan, occurred as the result of thrust faulting at shallow depths near the far western terminus of the Hindu Kush mountain range.”

It said the earthquake came about 30 minutes after another 6.3-magnitude earthquake.

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The USGS continued: “Both earthquakes occurred on east-west striking fault planes that dip to either the north or south. The earthquakes occurred within the Eurasia plate in an intracontinental mountain belt.”

A map showed seven earthquakes in the region, including a 5.9-magnitude earthquake 21.7 miles north-northwest of Herat, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake 20.5 miles north-north-east of Zindah Jan and a 6.3-magnitude earthquake 18 miles north-north-east of Zindah Jan, or 26 miles west of Herat city.

Images shared to social media showed the aftermath of the earthquakes, including broken parts of the famous Masjid Jami mosque.

Former Minister of Commerce and Industry of Afghanistan Nisar Ahmad Ghoryani wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “I am deeply grieved by the #earthquake that shook our country, especially #Herat province, where four of our compatriots lost their lives and 100 were wounded.

“I extend my sincere condolences to the bereaved families and wish a speedy recovery to the injured.”

There was no immediate comment from Taliban government officials on estimated casualties or damage.

However, Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban-appointed deputy prime minister for economic affairs, has now expressed his condolences to the victims in Herat and Badghis.

WHO Afghanistan said 12 ambulance cars were re-directed to Herat’s Zindah Jan district, believed to be the epicentre, to help evacuate causalities and transport them to hospital.

They stated: “@WHO trauma team is on alert and they are working with trauma doctors at Herat Regional Hospital.”

Earthquakes in Afghanistan are common, according to the USGS.

Seven other earthquakes with a magnitude of six or higher have occurred within 250km of Saturday’s earthquake since 1920, all within Iran.

They included a 7.3-magnitude earthquake in May 1997 that caused 1,567 fatalities and a 7.1-magnitude earthquake in November 1979.

In June last year, Afghanistan’s deadliest earthquake in two decades killed at least 1,000 people and injured about 1,500 more.

Saturday’s earthquakes have only further worsened living conditions in the middle east country.

Earlier this year, six millions Afghans were said to be one step away from famine after the World Food Programme (WFP) cut the nations’ food aid.

Back in April, the UN agency said it needed nearly $800m (£653m) to run its food assistance programme in the country for the next six months.

Harrowing reports from Afghanistan earlier this year claimed that parents were selling their children and organs to feed starving families.