Communist rebels have freed 60 Nepali soldiers held captive since August, a human rights group said on Wednesday.

The soldiers were handed over to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross at a remote mountainous village inside the area controlled by the rebels and were trekking south toward the nearest town, said INSEC Nepal, a prominent human rights group in Nepal.

A team of Red Cross officials had flown to the area earlier this week to negotiate their release. They were freed on Wednesday near the village of Lamidada, about 400 kilometers west of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu. According to Bhola Mahat of INSEC Nepal, the freed soldiers and the officials were expected to reach the nearest city by Thursday or Friday. There are few roads in the area and the only way to move is on foot.

• A kingdom under siege

Earlier reports said the Red Cross team comprises of four French, two Swiss, one German and one Briton. The Red Cross, previously, has secured the release of prisoners from the rebels on humanitarian grounds. Officials at the ICRC office in Katmandu were not available for comment.

The soldiers were taken hostage on August 7 after the guerrillas overran an army camp near Pilli, about 550 kilometers northwest of Katmandu, triggering the worst fighting this year between the insurgents and government troops. At least 50 soldiers and 26 rebels were killed, although both sides claim their opponents' death toll was higher.

The rebels, who have been fighting since 1996 for a communist state, claim to be inspired by Chinese communist
revolutionary Mao Zedong. Violence has escalated since King Gyanendra seized control of the government in February, a measure he said was necessary to quell the insurgency, which has left more than 11,500 dead.