Iran mourns three dead from war against IS in Syria

Iran held a joint funeral on Thursday for three nationals killed fighting the Islamic State group alongside forces of its close ally Syria, state media reported.

The memorial service for the three Iranians, all from Tehran, was attended by around 2,000 people, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Iran says it has no combat troops on the ground in Syria or neighbouring Iraq, only military advisers.

It says most of the mounting number of dead who have been repatriated from the two countries were volunteers who had travelled to defend the holy places of their Shiite Muslim faith.

They have been accompanied by a growing number of Afghan recruits to the war against IS in Syria.

Five were buried on Thursday in Iran’s second city Mashhad which is home to a large number of Afghans.

The Tasnim news agency said the five were members of the Fatemiyoun Brigade, an Afghan volunteer unit.

It said the brigade had recently been expanded to division strength, generally between 10,000 and 20,000 men.