China releases 10 Indian soldiers

China has freed 10 Indian soldiers seized in a high-altitude border clash in the Himalayas.

The release follows several rounds of talks between the two sides in a bid to ease tensions after the battle on Monday, in which scores of troops from the two sides fought with nail-studded batons and hurled rocks at each other.

The 10 soldiers were freed late on Thursday, media reported.

The clash left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead, media reports said on Friday

The Indian government made no comment but the army released a statement saying: “It is clarified that there are no Indian troops missing in action” after the fighting in the Galwan Valley area of Ladakh.

An Indian newspaper said an agreement on the release was reached at major general-level talks between the Indian army and China’s People’s Liberation Army.

India and China have blamed each other for the most serious fighting in more than 50 years along their bitterly contested Himalayas border, where they fought a war in 1962.

Dhaka/Mukul