At least 75 people were killed and over 300 wounded in nine near-simultaneous explosions across Assam on October 30. In Guwahati city, 41 killed were killed and 167 wounded in three blasts - at Ganeshguri, Panbazar and Fancy bazar. In Kokrajhar town, 20 people were killed and 60 injured in the three explosions, while in Barpeta Road, two explosions killed 14 and injured 70. The Bongaigaon blast was an accident as a bomb went off while being taken away to be defused, injuring 10 people.

Police pointed fingers at the Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami (HuJI). The state’s main separatist militant outfit - the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) is also believed to have supported the operation. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi stated that RDX was used in the Guwahati blasts. The ULFA has however denied any role in the blasts. Reports noted that intelligence agencies had warned that its 709 ‘battalion’ might retaliate against the government’s attempts to bring some members over ground with a ceasefire offer1.

In other developments, suspected militants belonging to the Jewel Gorlosa faction of the Dima Halam Daogah (DHD) gunned down 10 people, including eight policemen, while they were escorting a hearse in a remote area between Haflong and Lanka on October 30. The police stated that all the 10 persons were traveling in a vehicle when the militants ambushed the vehicle at Thaijuary under Doyangmukh police station2.

• 1. “ASSAM AFIRE, 9 blasts kill 75: Huji-Ulfa cocktail suspected,” Telegraph, October 31, 2008, at http://telegraphindia.com/1081031/jsp/frontpage/story_10042821.jsp
• 2. “Eight cops die in rebel ambush,” Telegraph, October 31, 2008, at http://telegraphindia.com/1081031/jsp/northeast/story_10042504.jsp