Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard says that three of its soldiers have been killed and 16 ISIL militants arrested in clashes in the south of the country.
General Mohammad Pakpour, head of the guard's land forces, said "16 members of the terrorist group were arrested and several of them killed", in Saturday's clashes in Fars province.
"The terrorists wanted to carry out attacks on border towns and in the centre of the country," he added, according to the guard's Sepha News.
The news website reported earlier that ISIL militants had infiltrated from Iraq.
Iran is one of the main international backers of the Syrian regime, and has sent military advisers and thousands of so-called "volunteers" to battle ISIL in both Syria and Iraq.
In June last year, ISIL claimed responsibility for two attacks on Iran's parliament and the shrine of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini that killed 17 people and wounded dozens.
Tehran has since tracked down and killed several suspected militants, and over the past few months authorities have announced the arrest of dozens of ISIL suspects in several regions.
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