Moderate quake shakes southeast Turkey

ISTANBUL: A moderate earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 shook Sirnak province in southeast Turkey on Thursday, the Kandilli Observatory in Istanbul said.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties in the quake, whose epicentre was at Silopi, near the Iraqi border. The US Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 5.3.

Earthquakes are a daily occurrence in Turkey, which is criss-crossed by geological fault lines. In October last year, more than 600 people died in the eastern province of Van after a quake of 7.2 magnitude and powerful aftershocks.