Syrian rebels said to have captured Revolutionary Guard troops from Iran

American officials said Wednesday that they had obtained credible information that at least some of the 48 Iranians captured in Damascus this month by Syrian rebels were members of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, not the pilgrims described by the government in Tehran. …

Officials would not describe the details that indicated the Iranians held by the rebels of the Free Syrian Army were members of the Revolutionary Guards, citing the delicacy of intelligence-gathering and -sharing efforts in the region, so it was not possible to verify the reports independently. The Iranians were on a bus that they said was on its way to a Shiite shrine when it was seized by the rebels. …

Senior Iranian officials have appealed directly to the Assad government for help in gaining the captives’ release. Requests from Iran on other matters have been made to countries on Syria’s border, including Turkey. Potential channels that Iran could use to negotiate with the rebel leaders are, as one government official said, “murky at best.”