A recent earthquake struck the provinces of Sulaymaniyah, Kirkuk, and Halabja in northern Iraq. According to a reporter from the Iraqi News Agency in Sulaymaniyah, "according to official sources in the region, the earthquake had a magnitude of 4.8."
Russia Today reported that residents in the provinces of Erbil and Sulaymaniyah felt strong tremors, describing them as "the strongest in years." Iraqi authorities have yet to announce detailed information about the tremors and their strength.
On his part, geologist Arkan Othman stated to the Iraqi "Nas News" channel that the earthquake which occurred east of Sulaymaniyah is equivalent to the explosion of 200 tons of TNT. Othman added that "an earthquake with a magnitude of 5 occurred at a depth of 10 km in the Kurdish borders of Iraq and Iran," noting that "this location is relatively close to the fault line, and it is normal for such earthquakes to occur. The location of Kurdistan, Iraq, is relatively safer than Kurdistan, Iran, and Turkey, but generally, a magnitude between 1-6 is expected."
