Quake rocks southern Iran

TEHRAN: A 6.5-magnitude earthquake rocked southeastern Iran on Monday, state television said on its website, without reporting any immediate casualties.

It said the quake struck the town of Hosseinabad in Kerman province at 10:12 pm (18:42 GMT) and was felt in the bordering province of Sistan-Baluchestan.

Mohsen Salehi, head of disaster management of Kerman province, told state news agency that the communication lines in the area were down and the quake was followed by mild tremors.

Hosseinabad lies near the city of Bam, the site of the deadliest earthquake to hit Iran in recent times.

The 6.3-magnitude temblor in December 2003 killed 31,000 people -- about a quarter of Bam's population -- and destroyed the city's ancient mud-built citadel.

Iran sits astride several major fault lines in the earth's crust and is prone to frequent earthquakes, many of which have been devastating.