- State media in Iran say more than 140 people were killed and hundreds more were injured in an earthquake along the Iran-Iraq border.
- The most extensive damage occured in Darbandikhan, which is 75 kms (47 miles) from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region.
- Both Israel and Turkey were reported to have felt tremors in many parts of their region.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A powerful magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit the region along the border between Iran and Iraq on Sunday, killing more than 140 people and injuring 860 in the mountainous region of Iran alone, state media there said.
The Baghdad government did not immediately give word on damage or casualties in that country.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered 19 miles (31 kilometers) outside the eastern Iraqi city of Halabja.
It struck at a depth of 23.2 kilometers (14.4 miles), a shallow depth that can have broader damage. Magnitude 7 earthquakes on their own are capable of widespread, heavy damage.
The quake was felt as far west as the Mediterranean coast. Its worst damage appeared to be in Iran’s western Kermanshah province, which sits in the Zagros Mountains that divide Iran and Iraq. Residents in the rural area rely mainly on farming to make a living.
Iranian social media and news agencies showed images and videos of people fleeing their homes into the night. Some 50 aftershocks have followed.
The state-run IRNA news agency disclosed the increase in casualties early Monday and said rescue work was continuing overnight and would accelerate during the daytime.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei offered his condolences Monday morning and urged rescuers and all government agencies to do all they could to help those affected, state media reported.
The semi-official ILNA news agency said at least 14 provinces in Iran had been affected by the earthquake.
Iran's head of the country's emergency medical services, Pirhossein Koulivand, told a local television station that the earthquake knocked out electricity in Iran's western cities of Mehran and Ilam. He also said 35 rescue teams were providing assistance.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a phone call with the Interior Ministry emphasized the need for maximum effort from officials.
Iranian social media was abuzz Sunday night with posts of people evacuating their homes, particularly in Kermanshah and Ghasr-e Shirin.
The semi-official Iranian ILNA news agency said at least 14 provinces in Iran had been affected by the earthquake.
Officials announced that schools in Kermanshah and Ilam provinces would be closed Monday because of the tremor.
Iran sits on many major fault lines and is prone to near-daily quakes. In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake flattened the historic city of Bam, killing 26,000 people. The last major casualty earthquake in Iran struck in East Azerbaijan province in August 2012, killing over 300 people.
(Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.)
