Over 200 killed in Iran protests — top security body

TEHRAN — More than 200 people have been killed in Iran since nationwide protests erupted over the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, the country's top security body said on Saturday.

Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin, died on September 16 after her arrest in Tehran for an alleged breach of the Islamic republic's dress code for women.

Quoted by the official IRNA news agency, the country's Supreme National Security Council said the number of people killed during unrest sparked by her death "exceeds 200".

It said the figure included security officers, civilians and "separatists" as well as "rioters", a term used by Iranian officials to describe protesters.

A general in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps this week, for the first time, said more than 300 people had lost their lives in the unrest.

The security council said that in addition to the human toll, the violence had caused millions of dollars in damage.

Oslo-based non-governmental organisation Iran Human Rights on Tuesday said at least 448 people had been "killed by security forces in the ongoing nationwide protests".

UN rights chief Volker Turk said last week that 14,000 people, including children, had been arrested in the protest crackdown.