Jakarta – Two Indonesian soldiers believed to have been abducted by separatists in the troubled province of Aceh have been found dead following the arrest of one of the alleged killers, a report said Tuesday.

The bodies of the two soldiers, identified as Major Edianto Abbas and Second Sergeant Syarifuddin, were found in a single grave on Monday in the Muara Dua sub district, North Aceh, the Kompas daily said.

They were still wearing the same military fatigues they had been wearing when they disappeared on December 28, the daily said.

The killing of several soldiers and the abduction of the two officers sparked a massive military operation to free those abducted and to capture members of the rebel movements. The operation has left scores killed and wounded.

The bodies were found following the arrest of an alleged leader of the separatist movement, identified as Sulaiman, who admitted to his questioners later that he had taken part in the killing of the two soldiers whom they had abducted.

The Antara news agency said Sulaiman also revealed the location of the grave where the two officers were buried.

Sulaiman, whom the military claim is the regional commander of the Free Aceh Movement, was arrested with an M-16 gun, 140 bullets and a list of persons to be killed, Antara said.

He was shot in the leg as he resisted arrest while his car was stopping at a local petrol station, Antara said.

The two soldiers were abducted after being ambushed by the rebel group while traveling with several other off-duty soldiers. Seven soldiers in the group were killed on the spot.

Meanwhile, North Aceh military chief Colonel Johnny Wahab has called on the people to hand over their weapons to the military, the agency said.

The Aceh Merdeka (Free Aceh) movement, led by Hasan Tiro, who is now in exile in Sweden, has been fighting for an independent Islamic state in Aceh since the 1970s and its activities surged in the late 1980s.