Deadly Earthquake Strikes Iran-Iraq Border | WPN World People News

An earthquake that struck Sunday along the Iraq-Iran border has killed more than 300 people and injured 2,500 others.

Iranian state media reported Monday that 328 people were killed there, with the majority of the victims in the town of Sarpol-e-Zahab in Kermanshah province.

Rescuers and relief groups worked overnight into Monday to try to help those affected.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was magnitude 7.3 with a center near the town of Halabja in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said he directed health and aid agencies to do whatever they can to provide assistance.

“We will do everything possible to help them. Wishing safety and security for all our people,” he wrote on Twitter.

The initial earthquake was followed by multiple aftershocks that sent people fleeing from their homes overnight.

The quake cut power and telephone service to several Iranian and Iraqi towns, making rescue efforts more difficult.

Iran sits on several major fault lines and has been hit by multiple deadly earthquakes in the past. A 2003 quake in the southern city of Bam killed at least 26,000 people, while a 2012 quake in East Azerbaijan province killed more than 300.

Source: Voice of America