Three Iranian soldiers killed in Syria: Media reports

By Ahmet Dursun

ISTANBUL

Three Iranian military personnel were reportedly killed on Monday in clashes between Syrian regime forces and groups that are not adhering to a ceasefire that went into effect in late February.

The Iranian media on Monday confirmed the death of Mohsen Qitaslo, a Special Forces officer from Iran’s 65th Army Brigade, and Hussein Bevvas and Taki Salhorde, both of whom were member of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (RGC).

A fourth RGC member, Seccad Khalili, was seriously injured, according to Iranian media.

Last week, Ali Arasteh, deputy coordinator of the Iranian army, declared that forces from the 65th Brigade had been dispatched to Syria to serve as "advisers".

In recent years, Iranian military personnel -- along with fighters from Lebanon’s Hezbollah group -- have been fighting in Syria to support the Bashar al-Assad regime.

Iran has lost a number of military personnel to the ongoing conflict, including several commanders, although Tehran officially denies any military involvement in Syria.

Iran usually claims its slain soldiers were in the country to serve as "volunteers", describing RGC personnel killed in the conflict as "retired soldiers" or "advisers".

According to the UN, more than 230,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in early 2011 between pro-Assad forces -- including Hezbollah -- and heavily-armed opposition groups.