At least 61 people have been killed and more than 300 injured after a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck the northern border region between Iraq and Iran on Sunday, Reuters has reported citing Iranian officials. 

The quake was monitored to have hit outside the Iraqi city of Halabjah with an epicenter depth of 32.2km, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The USGS has issued an orange alert in the area for "shaking-related fatalities and economic losses”.