Indian blasts kill 30, injure 100

30 Oct 2008, 7:53 pm   -   Source: AAP
Vechiles blaze after powerful bombs exploded near the District Court in Guwahati, India. (Getty)

Vechiles blaze after powerful bombs exploded near the District Court in Guwahati, India. (Getty)

At least 30 people were killed and 100 injured in a dozen blasts that ripped through the insurgency-hit northeastern Indian state of Assam on Thursday.

At least 30 people were killed and 100 injured on Thursday in a dozen blasts that ripped through towns and markets in the insurgency-hit northeastern Indian state of Assam, police said.

A police spokesman confirmed a total of 12 blasts that all exploded within the space of about one hour, five of them in the state's main city of Guwahati.

Three other districts in western Assam were also targeted, he said.

"According to preliminary reports, at least 30 people were killed and more than 100 injured. More than 30 of the injured are in a critical condition," one senior police official told AFP.

The explosions in Guwahati mostly struck busy market areas, including one that was close to the city's high security secretariat and state assembly.

An immediate curfew was clamped on Guwahati as some residents, who blamed lax security for the blasts, went on a rampage, attacking police vehicles and public buses.

"The area was teeming with people, office workers, shoppers and vendors when a very big explosion took place," said witness Arindam Das who was shopping in one of the markets.

"I saw at least six dead bodies, while more than 30 people were lying on the ground and bleeding," Das said.

The first explosion went off at around 11.20am (1650 AEDT).

Another blast took place in front of the Guwahati District Magistrates Court, killing five people.

"Some of the bodies were charred beyond recognition," Deputy Inspector General of Assam Police GP Singh said.

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 killed more than 20 people.

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.

In the past two decades, more than 10,000 people have lost their lives to insurgency in the state, which is known for its tea, timber and oil reserves.

"We don't know about the precise nature of the explosives or who could be behind the attacks as we are now busy carrying out rescue operations," Deputy Inspector Singh said.

Public support for the ULFA has dwindled in recent years after a series of attacks in public places that claimed heavy civilian casualties.

A recent survey by a civil society group, the Assam Public Works, said more than 95 per cent of people in the state rejected the ULFA's demand for independence.

Non-Assamese people make up nearly one-quarter of the remote state's 26 million people. The state has some 800,000 people from Bihar state, many of whom have lived in Assam for decades.

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