The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Colombo

At least 165 soldiers were killed and 20 more went missing in a major battle with Tamil separatists this week, military sources told AFP on Friday as journalists complained of unofficial censorship.

With reports of higher casualties emerging-making Wednesday's clash the bloodiest in recent years-the authorities extended "unofficial" censorship to hospitals and funeral parlours where photographers and reporters were shut out, a media rights group said.

The death toll from the sources were far higher than official defence ministry casualty figures, which gave 43 soldiers dead and 38 missing from Wednesday's fighting in the northern peninsula of Jaffna. "Some of the senior officers have been told that the army lost 185, including 20 who are still listed as missing," said a military source who declined to be named. "We are trying to establish the fate of the missing."

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on Thursday returned via the international Red Cross the bodies of 28 soldiers they had captured.

The government also reported killing more than 100 rebels and wounding 100 more in the pre-dawn offensive along the Muhamalai front lines on the peninsula.

The Tigers said only 25 of its fighters were killed.

Official defence ministry casualties reports and LTTE figures can seldom be verified because the government prevents journalists from visiting war zones and territory held by the rebels.