Gunmen kill 12 in market in India's Assam

One assailant was killed and security forces are in hot pursuit of three or four others in the area


Reuters August 05, 2016
Extremists open fire at civilians near Assam's Kokrajhar PHOTO: ANI

GUWAHATI:

Attackers wearing military uniforms shot dead 12 people and wounded 15 on Friday in a busy market area in a town in India's restive northeastern state of Assam, in an attack blamed by the authorities on a regional separatist group.


Three or four gunmen fired indiscriminately and threw hand grenades at the crowded market in Kokrajhar, a town about 220 km (137 miles) west of the state's commercial capital Guwahati, eyewitnesses said.


Jaish-e-Mohammad 'leader' killed in Indian Kashmir


One assailant was killed and security forces were in hot pursuit of three or four others in the area, Assam police chief Mukesh Sahay told TV channel CNN News 18.


A senior home ministry official in New Delhi said preliminary reports indicated the attack was carried out by separatist militants of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit).


"Police have launched a hunt to trace insurgents hiding near the incident spot. It is a militant attack and we will be sending a team from Delhi to investigate further," the official said.


In Indian-held Kashmir, 'fearless mobs' help militants escape


Assam, a remote and underdeveloped state in India's northeast, has suffered from years of ethnic and tribal insurgencies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nationalist party recently won power in a state election.


"This attack is intended to destabilise peace in Assam," said Himanta Biswa Sarma, the state's finance and health minister. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack.

COMMENTS (1)

Saeed Masood | 7 years ago | Reply Bad killing innocent people is a bad practice both by rebels or by Indian Government in Kashmir...
Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ