COLOMBO, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The military in Sri Lanka said Thursday that 28 bodies of government soldiers killed in a heavy battle by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the northern Jaffna peninsula have been handed over to the government.

    The Media Center for National Security said in a statement that the 28 bodies were handed over to the government at the entry-exit point in Omanthai of the Vavuniya district by the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) at 3:00 p.m. local time (0930 GMT) on Thursday.

    A pro-LTTE website said the rebel group handed over 28 dead bodies of the Army to ICRC representative Franche Roy in Kilinochchi at 12:45 p.m. (0715 GMT).

    The government said 43 soldiers were killed and 33 were missing with 120 more injured in the battle at Muhamalai on Wednesday.

    Meanwhile, 81 rebels were killed and 196 others were injured in the clash lasting for several hours, the government's defense spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters on Thursday.

    However, Rambukwella said the battle was not a setback to the government, and "our goal of eliminating terrorism by the end of the year still remains."

    Meanwhile, the LTTE said 15 government soldiers were killed and30 were injured in the northern Mannar battlefield on Thursday as a fresh attempt of the Army to advance into LTTE-controled areas was thwarted.

    Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara denied the LTTE's claim, saying there were only some small skirmishes in Mannar on Thursday.

    Government troops are currently engaged with LTTE rebels in the north after claiming in July last year that the entire Eastern Province had been free of the rebels.

    Claiming discrimination at the hands of the majority Sinhalese government, the LTTE has been fighting against the government since the mid-1980s to establish an independent homeland for Tamilminorities, resulting in the death of more than 70,000 people in the island.