Lanka presses rebels to free captive soldier

The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) returned the bodies of 12 soldiers killed by them Friday at the village of Vakaneri in eastern Sri Lanka, but were holding onto a 24-year-old soldier, a defence ministry official said.

"We have asked the ceasefire monitors to intervene and get the soldier released," the official said as the government also renewed a call for the release of a police officer the Tigers have held for more than 10 months.

The Tigers said they killed 12 troops and lost four of their own men in Friday's long-range battle, the highest toll since a sea battle killed 15 sailors and about 30 guerrillas on June 17.