UPDATE 5- 7.3 magnitude quake rocks northern Iraq, Iran

UPDATES WITH DEATH TOLL

ANKARA / TEHRAN (AA) - An earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale rocked northern Iraq and Iran, the U.S. Geological Survey said on Sunday evening.

"We have already had 129 casualties and around 1000 injured," said the Deputy Governor of Kermanshah in Iran's west.

The epicenter of the quake was located around 32 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of the city of Halabja, near the Iranian border, and 103 kilometres (64 miles) southeast of the city of Sulaymaniyah, at a depth of 33 kilometers, and hit at 9:18 p.m. local time (1818GMT), said the U.S. Geological Survey.

Initially, six people were announced dead in the border town of Qasr-e Shirin in Kermanshah Province in Iran's west, according to Iran's state news agency IRNA and the semi-official Fars news agency.

According to Iraqi media, the earthquake damaged buildings in certain areas of Kirkuk and Sulaymaniyah.

A local health official of Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) initially said at least 50 people were injured.

The quake was followed by a dozen aftershocks ranging from 3.1 to 4.1 in magnitude, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The earthquake damaged phone, internet and powerlines throughout various towns and villages.

The quake also destroyed a number of buildings in rural areas and caused cracks in the walls of villages and towns some 122km to the West of Kermanshah city, Fars News Agency added.

The earthquake was also felt in Turkey's southeastern and eastern regions, including the Diyarbakir, Batman, Mardin, Hakkari, Van, Mus, and Sirnak provinces.

It was also felt as far away as Kuwait, Syria, Lebanon and Pakistan.