HANOI: Military searchers have recovered the remains of around 74 communist troops who died in the Vietnam War`s Tet Offensive in January 1968, an official said Friday.

"We also found watches, buttons from military uniforms and hammocks. This evidence confirmed they were Vietnamese soldiers," a military official from central Quang Tri province, who did not want to be named, told AFP.

The recovery operation was sparked after a farmer uncovered some remains while digging his garden.

More than 150 soldiers are believed to have been hastily buried in the mass grave during the conflict, according to US and Vietnamese files.

"Some bodies were found whole, while others were only pieces," the official said, adding that the search, which began on Monday, is expected to last several more days.

Communist troops suffered devastating losses during the Tet Offensive in January 1968, when their 70,000 fighters attacked targets in more than 100 towns and cities in South Vietnam, including the US embassy.

However the ensuing bloodshed proved a psychological victory for the communists, strengthening a powerful US anti-war movement that eventually helped force the American government to pull out of the country in 1975.

According to the Vietnam defence ministry, about 300,000 soldiers fighting on the North side during the war are still listed as missing.

BDST: 1115 HRS, September 3, 2010