"Colonel Shakiba Salimi and two other brave fighters of Islam, Jafar Nezampour and Majid Shokri, were martyred after fighting and killing a number of counter-revolutionary elements," ISNA quoted a Guards statement as saying.

The clash ocurred near the town of Divandareh, the statement added, without naming the group.

For much of the past 40 years, Iran has been battling Kurdish militants who use bases in neighbouring Iraqi Kurdistan to stage attacks against the Guards and state institutions inside the country.

Iranian state television said the funeral of those killed is to be held on Wednesday morning while observing health protocols and social distancing measures imposed during the novel coronavirus outbreak.