Tasnim � A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Sarpol-e Zahab in Kermanshah Province on Sunday, leaving 23 people wounded, a provincial official said.


�Today�s earthquake has left 23 people injured up to this moment, who received treatment as outpatients,� Maziar Tahmasebi, a senior health and medical official in Kermanshah province, told Tasnim on Sunday.

A magnitude 7.3 earthquake in the same area in November killed at least 530 people and injured more than 8,000.

Iran is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, being crossed by several major fault lines that cover at least 90% of the country. As a result, earthquakes in Iran occur often and are destructive.

The deadliest quake in Iran's modern history happened in June 1990. It destroyed the northern cities of Rudbar, Manjil, and Lushan, along with hundreds of villages, killing an estimated 37,000 people.

Bam in the country�s southeastern province of Kerman witnessed a strong quake in December 2003 which killed 31,000 people.