In pictures: Deadliest earthquake on Iran-Iraq border

The Baghdad government did not immediately give word on casualties in that country, though Prime Minister Haider al- Abadi yesterday issued a directive for the country's civil defense teams

A powerful earthquake shook the Iran- Iraq border, killing 580 people and injuring 1,686 in the mountainous region of Iran alone, Iranian state media said. The magnitude 7.3 quake was centered 31 kilometers outside the eastern Iraqi city of Halabja, according to the most recent measurements from the US Geological Survey.

The Baghdad government did not immediately give word on casualties in that country, though Prime Minister Haider al- Abadi yesterday issued a directive for the country's civil defense teams and "related institutions" to respond to the natural disaster.

It struck at a depth of 23.2 kilometers, a shallow depth that can have broader damage. Magnitude 7 earthquakes on their own are capable of widespread, heavy damage.

Rescuers carry body of victim

Rescuers carry away the body of an earthquake victim in Sarpol-e-Zahab in western Iran, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017. Rescuers are digging through the debris of buildings felled by the Sunday earthquake that killed more than four hundreds of people in the border region of Iran and Iraq. AP/PTI photo

An earthquake survivor sits on debris

An earthquake survivor sits on debris in front of his house in a compound, which was built under the Mehr state-owned program, in Sarpol-e-Zahab in western Iran, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani says his administration will probe the cause of so much damage to buildings constructed under the state-owned program after a powerful earthquake hit the area along the border with Iraq on Sunday which killed over 400 people. AP/PTI photo

Damage to property

People and rescuers move a destroyed car on the earthquake site in Sarpol-e-Zahab in western Iran, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017. Rescuers are digging through the debris of buildings felled by the Sunday earthquake in the border region of Iran and Iraq. AP/PTI photo

Building reduced to rubble

People walk next to a destroyed house after an earthquake, in the city of Darbandikhan, northern Iraq, Monday, Nov. 13, 2017. A powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake near the Iraq-Iran border has killed over 350 people across both countries, sent residents fleeing their homes into the night and was felt as far away as the Mediterranean coast. AP/PTI photo

Family members of victims

In this photo provided by Tasnim News Agency, relatives weep over the bodies of earthquake victims, in Sarpol-e-Zahab, in western Iran, Monday, Nov. 13, 2017. Authorities reported that a powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck the Iraq-Iran border region on Monday and killed more than three hundred people in both countries, sent people fleeing their homes into the night and was felt as far west as the Mediterranean coast. AP/PTI photo

(With agency inputs)