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Dozens Killed by Earthquakes in Iran Friday March 31 2006 Three earthquakes and several aftershocks claimed the lives of at least 70 people in Western Iran, on Thursday and Friday. Around 1 200 people were also injured as homes were destroyed. The first quake, with a magnitude of 4.7, struck a mountainous region on Thursday night local time, followed by a second measuring 5.1 which hit the industrial cities of Boroujerd and Doroud. A third tremor, measuring 6.0, hit Doroud and surrounding villages on Friday morning, while a number of aftershocks were registered. Officials said around 330 villages in the area had been damaged. Provincial official Ali Barani added that several villages hardest hit had been flattened. The death toll was unlikely to rise any further, the officials announced. Many causalities were in bed when the quake struck. Other people fled their homes in panic, with many spending the night in open spaces. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said: “We are always prepared to extend humanitarian assistance to people around the world.” The earthquakes have been classified as moderate, but such quakes have killed thousands of people in the past in the Iranian countryside where houses are often made of mud bricks. In February 2005, a 6.4 magnitude quake hit the town of Zarand in Southern Iran, killing 612 and injuring more than 1400. A magnitude 6.6 quake flattened the historic South Eastern city of Bam in the same region in December 2003, killing 27 000 people. Iran is situated on seismic fault lines and is prone to earthquakes. It experiences at least one slight quake everyday on average.