Violent terrorist attack in Assam
Guwahati (AsiaNews/Agencies) - A series of explosions - at least 11 - has struck the state of Assam in northeast India. The tentative toll of the terrorist attack is 40 dead, and more than 200 wounded. Suspicions are falling on militants of ULFA and HUJI, separatist groups for the independence of Assam.
25 people were killed by the first four explosions, which took place in the capital of Guwahati. Another 10 died in Kokrajhar, 3 in Barpeta, and 2 in Bongaigaong. The number of victims could rise, because it is believed that at the moment of the explosion, some people were trapped inside cars that caught on fire. The injured people were taken to the medical college hospital in Guwahati, where victims from other districts have also been taken.
The bombs were detonated simultaneously at 11:30, in all four cities: the first attack in the capital hit a fruit and vegetable market in Ganeshguri, the second, in the district of Kamrup, went off near the office of the deputy prosecutor, wounding many people and destroying a number of cars parked in the area. The third explosion destroyed the area around the police station, near a crowded bazaar; many people in the areas struck were swept up in panic.
In some cases, the police had to use force to subdue the crowds furious over the slow response of emergency personnel.
Police superintendent P. G. Singh says that public safety officers moved immediately to put out the fires.
In Kokrajiar, it is thought that the explosives were placed on a motorcycle, because of the dense smoke coming from some cars, among which bits of a destroyed motorcycle were found. Officials issued a red alert for the entire state of Assam.
Investigators accuse the guerrillas of the ULFA (United Liberation Front of Assam), an organization that has been fighting for the independence of the state since 1979. Separatist revolts have taken place since 1947, the date of India's independence. Assam is one of the most diverse areas in India for ethnicity, religion, and culture: more than 200 different groups live in it.
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31/10/2008
