An accomplice in the killing of Serbian warlord Arkan is reported to have been wounded in the shooting and to be lying unconscious in hospital under police guard.

Serbia's Politika newspaper, quoting what it called reliable sources, said: "An accomplice, badly wounded in the shooting, has been operated on. The killer is at large."

It said the suspect was unable to make any declaration to police because he was still unconscious.

There is no independent confirmation of the report.

The newspaper, which has close ties to the administration of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, also said that Arkan - whose real name was Zeljko Raznatovic - knew the assassin and his accomplice and had spoken with them before being killed.

Government denial

The Serbian government has rejected opposition allegations that it may have been involved in the killing.

The deputy minister of information, Miodrag Popovic, accused opposition parties of cynically trying to turn the killing to their political advantage.

He said he did not think the death of 47-year-old Arkan was politically motivated.

It was more likely, Mr Popovic said, that Arkan's death was linked to his criminal activities.

He dismissed talk of state terrorism by the opposition as "ridiculous".

Arkan was gunned down in the lobby of a plush Belgrade hotel on Saturday.

His bodyguard and a friend were also killed in the hail of bullets. Police have so far failed to issue an official report.

Radmilo Bogdanovic, a senior member of President Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist Party and former interior minister, also played down suggestions that the authorities were to blame.

"The easiest thing for them to do is to call it state terrorism, but I see no way to link those things," Mr Bogdanovic told independent radio B292.

No contact with tribunal

Opposition figures have suggested that Arkan, an indicted war criminal, may have been killed because his close association with President Milosevic meant he had access to sensitive information.

But the chief prosecutor in The Hague, Carla del Ponte, said Arkan had made no contact with the International War Crimes Tribunal to offer testimony in return for a deal.

"We have had no contact with Arkan. Arkan has given us nothing at all. We are inquiring into this case without any contribution from Arkan," she said in response to a question in Brussels.

Serbia's Federal Information Minister, Goran Matic, meanwhile accused the international media of over-reacting to the killing.

Arkan's Serbian Unity Party said a memorial service for him would be held on Wednesday at the Union Hall in Belgrade. The funeral is scheduled for Thursday.