JAKARTA, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Indonesia issued a tsunami warning on Tuesday after a strong earthquake struck off the Moluccas islands in the country's east.

The magnitude 6.6 quake occurred at 3.04 pm (0804 GMT) with the epicentre 45 km (28 miles) southwest of Labuha in North Maluku province, the Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said in a telephone text message.

It had the potential to cause a tsunami, it added. The U.S. Geological Survey separately put the earthquake at 6.5 magnitude and at a depth of 31 km in a bulletin on its Web site.

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