TEHRAN (Reuters) - An earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale jolted a town in northeastern Iran and surrounding areas on Friday but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, the Iranian news agency IRNA reported.

It said the quake jolted Shahrud and areas north of it, which are near the border with Turkmenistan.

An Interior Ministry official in Tehran told Reuters: ''Thank God, according to reports we have received there have been no casualties.''

``The earthquake mostly shook areas across the border,'' said the official from the ministry's headquarters for natural disasters.

IRNA quoted the local governor's office as saying it had not yet received any reports on possible casualties or damage.

In August, an earthquake measuring 5.1 killed one person and destroyed houses in a village outside Shahrud.

Iran is often hit by earthquakes. The worst measured 7.3 on the Richter scale and killed 35,000 people in 1990.