Deadly twin blasts rock north-eastern Assam state

Bombs targeting a police station and a shopping centre have killed at least six people and wounded another 40 in the troubled north-eastern state of Assam, where rebels have led a decades-old struggle for secession.

REUTERS - At least six people were killed and 40 wounded in two bomb blasts in northeast India’s troubled Assam state on Sunday, police said.

Bombs hidden in bicycles exploded in front of a police station and a shopping complex in Nalbari town, about 70 km (43 miles) west of state capital Dispur, Jitmol Doley, a senior police officer told Reuters by telephone.

Police said the separatist United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) was behind the blasts, but a senior rebel leader telephoned local newspaper offices and television stations to deny its involvement.

The blasts came soon after New Delhi announced the government will provide safe passage to top rebel leaders willing to talk and find a lasting solution to the decades-old insurgency in the state.

Security forces have placed the entire tea-and oil-rich Assam state on high alert.

Date created : 2009-11-22