* by Staff Writers
     * From: AFP
     * August 28, 2010 5:21PM

THREE people, including two children, have been killed and 40 others
injured in an earthquake which struck Iran's biggest desert, Dasht-e
Kavir, state television reports.

The 5.9-magnitude quake struck south of the northern city of Damghan.

In a separate report, the state television website quoted
secretary-general of Iran Red Crescent, Zaher Rostani, as saying that an
elderly woman was also among those killed in the quake.

The website said six villages near Damghan were damaged in the quake
which was about 278km east of Tehran.

The tremor was also felt in the capital Tehran.

Iran sits astride several major fault lines in the Earth's crust, and is
prone to frequent earthquakes, many of which have been devastating.

The worst in recent times was a 6.3-magnitude quake which hit the
southern city of Bam in December 2003, killing 31,000 people, about a
quarter of its population, and destroying the city's ancient mud-built
citadel.

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