BEIRUT (AP) -- 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.