A 7.3 magnitude earthquake has struck the border region
between Iraq and Iran, killing dozens of people on the
Iranian side and injured hundreds more, according to state
media.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said Sunday's powerful
quake hit close to Halabjah, southeast of Sulaymaniyah, a
city in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern
Iraq.
The tremor, which was felt as far away as Qatar, struck at
9:18pm local time (18:18) GMT. Its epicentre was at a depth
of 33.9km.
Iranian news agency ISNA said at least 61 people were
killed and 300 injured in Kermanshah province on the Iraqi
border.
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Most of the victims are believed to be in the town of Sarpol-
e Zahab.
Iranian media said rescue teams have been deployed in the
area amid fears the death toll will rise.
Earlier on Sunday, Faramarz Akbari, governor of Iran's
Qasr-e Shirin city, had told Iran's state-run IRNA news
agency that there were at least two fatalities.
He also said that estimating damages is impossible due to a
massive power cut.
Crossed by several major fault lines, Iran is one of the
world's most seismically active countries.
In 2003, a 6.6 magnitude earthquake flattened the historic
city of Bam in southeastern Iran, killing some 26,000
people.
Powerful tremor
On the other side of the border, Sulaymaniyah officials
declared an emergency in the early hours of Monday to
assess the aftermath of the quake, according to local
Kurdish media.
Al Jazeera's Imran Khan, reporting from the Iraqi capital,
Baghdad, said cars came to a standstill in the city as the
buildings began to sway.
"Baghdad is not prone to earthquakes so when people began
to come outside, the shock was visible on the faces," he
said.
"For the first few seconds, I actually thought an explosion
had taken place, but as it carried on - for up to a minute - I
realised it was an earthquake," he added.
Pictures and footage published on social media showed
people seeking safety in the streets of Sulaymaniyah while
the interiors of buildings shook.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/11/northern-iraq-rocked-72-magnitude-earthquake-171112184114150.html