Tehran, Iran (CNN)  -- Several people were killed and more than 300 were arrested in anti-government protests in Tehran Sunday, Iran's Deputy Police Chief Ahmad Reza Radan said on state television station IRINN. The toll was the result of clashes that broke out between demonstrators and security forces as large crowds gathered for Ashura, a major religious observance. Five people were reported killed in the fighting, Iranian state-run Press TV said late Sunday. A French government statement put the number of fatalities at eight. With tight restrictions on international media, CNN could not independently verify the casualties. Without giving an exact number of casualties, Radan said those killed included one person who fell off a bridge and two others who were killed in a car accident during the protests.
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NEW: Web site of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi says nephew was killed in protests
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Five people were reported killed in fighting, Iranian state-run Press TV said late Sunday
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Demonstrations are latest since outrage over the June presidential elections
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Clashes occur during holy period of Ashura
Facing the persistence of popular movements and the worsening of the repression, @placeholder is calling for a political solution in Iran," the ministry's statement said.