Tehran, Iran • Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency says the death toll in the powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake along the borders of Iran and Iraq has risen above 140.
IRNA also said over 860 people were injured in the quake that shook the region Sunday.
The report Monday morning said 141 had been killed in cities and towns in the western Iranian province of Kermanshah.
It said rescuers worked through the night and the operations will be accelerated during the day Monday.
Iranian TV says Iraqi officials have reported at least six people dead on Iraq's side of the border from Sunday's quake. It says the officials also report more than 50 people were injured in Iraq's Sulaymaniyah province and about 150 were hurt in Khanaquin city. There has been no official report from Iraq's government.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake was centered around 19 miles outside the eastern Iraqi city of Halabja.
Iran sits on many major fault lines and is prone to quakes. In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake flattened the historic city of Bam, killing 26,000 people.