Updated

A Kosovo forensic official says the remains of 46 ethnic Albanian civilians killed by Serb forces during the 1998-99 Kosovo war have been handed over to their families.

Arsim Gerxhaliu, head of Kosovo's forensic department, says Monday that a funeral for the victims will take place on Wednesday, the 15th anniversary of the killings.

The victims were killed in two separate rampages by Serb forces in western Kosovo in March 1999 just days after NATO began a bombing campaign to stop Serbia's onslaught against separatist ethnic Albanians.

Some of them were buried by Serb forces at a military air base near Serbia's capital, Belgrade, in an attempt to cover up the killings. Other victims were found in mass graves in Kosovo.

Over 1,000 people still remain missing.