Police detain suspects after India blasts
Saturday, November 1, 2008
INDIAN police interrogated about a dozen people yesterday over suspected links to serial bombings this week in the state of Assam that claimed 76 lives and left hundreds injured.
A total of 12 explosions - all within the space of an hour - shook the insurgency-hit northeastern state on Thursday, six of them ripping through crowded areas in the main city of Guwahati.
There was no claim of responsibility for the attacks, but speculation has focused on the rebel United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), which has been fighting for an independent homeland since 1979.
The ULFA issued a written statement denying any involvement.
Police said they were also investigating the possible role of Islamic groups active in Assam - such as the Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami.
A senior police official said yesterday that detectives were making headway in their investigation.
"We should be able to zero in on the people or groups involved," said the official, who did not want to be named.
Preliminary investigations showed some of the bombs had been strapped to bicycles and packed with incendiary material to trigger fires.
Assam Home Commissioner Subhas Das said 15 people had died of their injuries overnight, taking the death toll to 76, of whom 43 were killed in Guwahati.
Three other districts in western Assam were also targeted by the bombers. The total number of injured stood at more than 300.
The powerful blasts, including one in front of the Guwahati District Magistrate's Court, reduced nearby vehicles to heaps of twisted metal.AFP
A total of 12 explosions - all within the space of an hour - shook the insurgency-hit northeastern state on Thursday, six of them ripping through crowded areas in the main city of Guwahati.
There was no claim of responsibility for the attacks, but speculation has focused on the rebel United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), which has been fighting for an independent homeland since 1979.
The ULFA issued a written statement denying any involvement.
Police said they were also investigating the possible role of Islamic groups active in Assam - such as the Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami.
A senior police official said yesterday that detectives were making headway in their investigation.
"We should be able to zero in on the people or groups involved," said the official, who did not want to be named.
Preliminary investigations showed some of the bombs had been strapped to bicycles and packed with incendiary material to trigger fires.
Assam Home Commissioner Subhas Das said 15 people had died of their injuries overnight, taking the death toll to 76, of whom 43 were killed in Guwahati.
Three other districts in western Assam were also targeted by the bombers. The total number of injured stood at more than 300.
The powerful blasts, including one in front of the Guwahati District Magistrate's Court, reduced nearby vehicles to heaps of twisted metal.AFP
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