Moderate earthquake jolts eastern Iran

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s state news agency said a 5.2 magnitude earthquake has jolted a sparsely populated district in the country’s east.

IRNA said the quake hit a district near the town of Qaen before dawn Sunday and that there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

Last month, twin earthquakes struck northwestern Iran and claimed the lives of more than 300 people, injured thousands and left several thousand homeless.

Iran is located on seismic faults and is frequently shaken by earthquakes.

In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 quake killed some 26,000 after it flattened historic city of Bam in the country’s southeast.