By Mustafa Melih Ahishali   

ISTANBUL

Three members of the Fatemiyoun Division, an Afghan Shia militia affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, were killed Thursday while fighting in Syria, according to Iranian media reports. 

Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that the bodies of the slain fighters had been brought back to Iran where they would receive formal military funerals. 

Exactly where in Syria the militiamen were killed -- and who they were fighting -- remains unclear, however. 

Backed by Tehran, the Fatemiyoun Division (Liwa Fatemiyoun) is composed almost exclusively of Afghan Shia fighters. 

Iran is home to an estimated three million Afghans, many of whom have fled persecution and conflict in their home country.