/ 30 October 2008

India rocked by series of bomb blasts

At least 20 people were killed and 100 injured on Thursday in a series of blasts that ripped through the north-eastern Indian state of Assam, police said.

The 11 apparently synchronised explosions hit three districts in the insurgency-wracked state, including three blasts in Guwahati city where police officials and eyewitnesses said at least seven people had been killed.

Television footage showed smoke billowing out of buildings in central Guwahati and injured people being carried to hospital.

The Press Trust of India said the first explosion in Guwahati occurred at a vegetable and fruit market, not far from the city’s high security secretariat and state assembly.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts, which came six weeks after the Indian capital, New Delhi, was hit by a series of bombs that left more than 20 dead.

Previous bombings in Assam have largely been blamed on the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), which has been fighting the government for an independent homeland since 1979.

More than 10 000 people have lost their lives to insurgency in the state, famous for its tea, during the past two decades. — AFP