Bombs kill at least 25 in India's Assam state

Source: Agencies  |   2008-10-30  |     ONLINE EDITION

EIGHTEEN bomb blasts in quick succession shook the main city of India's troubled northeastern Assam state and three other towns today, killing at least 25 people, police said.

Firefighters doused smouldering remains of cars and motorcycles at one of the blast sites in Guwahati. One of the blasts targeted a high security zone with a court as well as offices and homes of senior police officials.

Many of the blasts were in crowded markets in the state. Dozens of people were wounded.

Television channels showed some people lying on the streets, their clothes soaked in blood. Some of the walking wounded were helped into ambulances by local people and police.

"According to initial reports, 25 people are dead. This toll is likely to go up. Many bodies have been burnt beyond recognition," G.P. Singh, deputy inspector general of police in Guwahati, told Reuters.

No one has claimed responsibility as yet for the bomb blasts.

Assam has been a focus of a separatist insurgency for decades and has also suffered bomb attacks blamed on Islamic militants from neighbouring Bangladesh.

Last month, the state was also hit by clashes between indigenous tribes and Muslim settlers that left at least 47 people dead.

A wave of bomb attacks has hit India in recent months, killing more than 125 people. Police have blamed most of those attacks on Muslim militants, although some Hindu militants have also been suspected for carrying out several attacks.

Singh said two of the bombs in Guwahati were hidden in motorcycles or scooters.

"The impact of the blast was so huge, a packed bus got half burnt and we pulled out lot of injured people and sent them to hospital," Pankaj Goswami, a witness at a blast in Guwahati, said.

Local television said a curfew was imposed in Guwahati after crowds angry at the blasts attacked police and set cars on fire. Police fired in the air to disperse an angry mob.