Update | Over 200 killed in powerful Iran-Iraq border earthquake

The powerful

magnitude 7.3 earthquake has left 207 people dead, and some 1,700 people injured along the Iran and Iraq border, reported AFP citing officials.

Death toll is expected to rise as quake-triggered landslides has hindered rescue efforts.

Earlier, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a statement issued by his office that he is seeking to reassure Iraqi civilians of their safety.

There's no immediate official number of casualties from Iraq, but local media said six lives were lost in the earthquake.

The earthquake sparked panic, with residents fleeing their homes for the streets.

Mosques in the Iraqi capital Baghdad have been saying prayers through loudspeakers.

Iranian news channel IRINN said rescue teams have been despatched to western parts of the country.

"Damage has been reported in at least eight villages," Morteza Salim, the head of Iran's Red Crescent Organisation, told the channel.

"Some other villages have suffered power cuts and their telecommunications system has also been disturbed."

The earthquake was felt in Turkey and Israel too.

It struck in the evening local time south of the Iraqi town of Halabja at a depth of 33.9 km (21 miles), the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

(CGTN)