Hezbollah bodies handed over

Crowds turned out for the return of the dead fighters

The bodies of two Hezbollah guerrillas who died in fighting more than three years ago have been returned to Lebanon after being handed over by Israel.

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah linked the move to the resumption of negotiations through German mediators aimed at a possible prisoner swap with Israel.

Hezbollah flags were draped over the coffins, which were transported by Red Cross vehicles, at the handover in the southern Lebanese border town of Naqoura.

There was no immediate official word from Israel on the move, although an unnamed security sources told the French news agency AFP the bodies were being transferred "to establish a climate of confidence in order to make progress towards the eventual exchange of prisoners."

This is definitely not a (prisoner) swap Red Cross official Antoine Bieler

Another unnamed official said the Israelis hoped to get information about captives held by Hezbollah in exchange for the transfer.

The group captured three Israeli soldiers in a disputed border area in October 2000 - months after the Israeli pull-out from southern Lebanon.

It also claimed to have captured a reservist officer, Elhanan Tenenbaum who it said was an Israeli intelligence agent.

Hezbollah has long pressed for the release of more than a dozen Lebanese held in Israeli jails.

'Progress on prisoners'

According to Hezbollah, the two are: Ammar Hussein Hammoud, 24, killed in December 1999 in a suicide attack on an Israeli convoy; and Ghassan Zaatar, 31, killed in clashes with Israeli troops in November 1998.

Hezbollah television said the bodies would be taken to hospital ahead of burial ceremonies planned for Tuesday.

"This is definitely not a (prisoner) swap," senior ICRC official in Lebanon Antoine Bieler was quoted as saying.

"At least for today this is a unilateral move from one side to the other."

In a faxed statement, the Hezbollah Secretary General said the transfer "comes in the context of reactivating negotiations through German mediators, which we hope they will continue in order to achieve the desired results," the Associated Press reported.

He suggested at the weekend that progress was being made on the issue of Lebanese detainees, but did not indicate how the issue was being resolved.