Canadian parliamentary secretary Deepak Obhrai, who visited the war-ravaged areas of Sri Lanka earlier this week, was told by the Sri Lankans that the captured Canadian 'is a combatant'.

'We were told he was held at a camp which is for combatants, which is separate, which they classify as a rehabilitation camp,' Obhrai said. But the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) said Thursday that it has no knowledge of any Tamil Canadian fighting alongside the LTTE.

'Considering Sri Lanka's record, people should be cautious about making judgments on the basis of reports coming from there,' said CTC spokesperson David Poopalapillai.

'The war was conducted without witnesses for so long. But even after declaring the war is over, Sri Lanka has not allowed independent and neutral observers to the war-hit areas,' he said.

'Under these circumstances, it is very hard to believe what is coming out from government sources. We want independent media and neutral observers to have free access to investigate this claim.

'Until then, we must remain cautious and skeptical about the government's claims as torture could have played a role in this case,' Poopalapillai said.