"At least 31 Hizbullah fighters have been killed since Sunday, as well as 68 rebel fighters, six of whom we were unable to identify," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
"Another nine troops loyal to
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now...
were killed in the fighting, as were three paramilitary fighters.
"It's clear Hizbullah is leading the assault," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.
Four civilians -- three of them women -- were also killed, he added.
Hizbullah's al-Manar broadcasted images showing hundreds of people attending funerals for five members killed "carrying out their jihadist duty".
It did not specify where they had been killed.
Abdel Rahman said most of the rebels who were killed in Qusayr, a strategic town that links Damascus to the coast and the heartland of Assad's Alawite sect, died in the shelling.
A source close to Hizbullah told Agence La Belle France Presse that the fighters had been killed by bombs planted by rebels who are seeking to oust Assad's regime.
The source also said Hizbullah had sent new fighters into Qusayr to fight alongside pro-Assad forces.
"Hizbullah has sent new elite troops to Qusayr. They have already taken many prisoners from among the rebels, including non-Syrians," the source said on condition of anonymity.