India market attack: Suspected rebels kill 13 in Assam

Security forces are searching the blast area in Kokrajhar

Gunmen have opened fire on a busy market place in India's north-eastern state of Assam, killing at least 13 people, officials say.

Police blamed the attacks on suspected rebels from a faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).

The army has recovered weapons and ammunition from the area

Reports say one suspected rebel was killed in the gun battle with security forces in Kokrajhar district. The NDFB wants an independent homeland for the Bodo ethnic group to be carved out of Assam.


Assam police chief Mukesh Sahay told the BBC that the attack took place in a market in Balajan, an area just outside the town of Kokrajhar. "Many civilians sustained injuries when militants opened indiscriminate fire. They also lobbed grenades," he said.