The Ugandan army has set free three European priests whom it captured during a clash with Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in the north of the country.

The soldiers held them for 24 hours on suspicion of cooperating with the LRA before setting them free in the town of Gulu, the missionary news service MISNA reports.

One of the priests was wounded in the arm during the battle but no details of his condition were given.

Religious leaders say the priests - two Italians and one Spaniard - were holding peace talks with the LRA, a theory the army has questioned.

Unholy war

The LRA says it wants to rule Uganda under the Biblical 10 Commandments Leader Joseph Kony keeps numerous "wives", many of them abducted girls kept as sex slaves The group is notorious for abducting children to swell its own ranks, said to be about 4,000-strong Seeking to overthrow government since 1987

Religious leaders have described the situation as a setback saying the three priests had been playing an instrumental role in attempting to end the war.

Early reports say four LRA rebels were captured along with the priests but details of their fate have not been given.

The Ugandan army says it is continuing to attack the LRA rebels as they have so far failed to adhere to President Museveni terms for a ceasefire and have continued to use violence.

The president said that LRA groups must first assemble in agreed locations, or ask for safe passage to go to such places.

'Army notified'

According to Ugandan army spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza the priests and rebels were captured by a mobile unit of the Ugandan army on Wednesday in Pader District.

The army said it had not been notified of a peace mission

"If they were on a peace mission, how come local leaders and security forces in the area do not know about it?" he asked in an interview for Reuters news agency.

According to Lam Cosmos of the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative, the three priests were due to hold peace talks with commanders of the Lords Resistance Army.

He named them as Father Carlos Rodriguez, Father Tarcisio Pazzaglia and Father Giulio Albanese.

He said that, as far as he knew, the military authorities had been made aware of the talks, adding that Father Tarcisio had met the Ugandan military intelligence officer over the weekend.

Public row

One of the priests, Father Carlos, had a public disagreement with President Museveni only this week over the ongoing attempt to end the war.

In an edition of The Monitor newspaper, he said: "Nobody is winning this war... we are all losers."

He criticised the way the Ugandan army operated and the way rebel deaths were reported in the media.

"So many innocent have perished in recent months and have been gleefully counted as rebels killed."

On Wednesday, the Monitor Newspaper published President Museveni's response:

"Father Carlos's arguments like most arguments of pacifists are misleading and erroneous."

He accused Father Carlos of covering up crime.