Report: 23 Hezbollah members killed in Syria
By ZEINA KARAM, Associated Press
May 20, 2013 3:24 AM CDT
In this Saturday, May 18, 2013 citizen journalism image provided by Qusair Lens which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrians inspecting the rubble of damaged buildings due to government airstrikes, in Qusair, Homs province, Syria. The town of Qusair has been...   (Associated Press)

A Syrian group that tracks the country's civil war says 23 fighters from the militant group Hezbollah have been killed in fierce clashes in a strategic town near the Lebanese border.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the fighters died in the fighting Sunday around the rebel-held town of Qusair. More than 100 have been wounded.

Observatory director Rami Abdul-Rahman cited "sources close to the militant group" but declined to reveal their identity. The Observatory relies on a wide network of activists in the ground in Syria.

Fighting has raged around Qusair for weeks. The regime launched a push Sunday to regain control of the town in central Homs province.

Lebanese security officials confirmed several funerals were being held Monday morning for Hezbollah fighters killed in Syria.