34 killed as India goes on security alert ( 2003-08-15 09:46) (Agencies)
Militants fighting Indian rule in the remote northeast killed 34 people in
bomb blasts and shootouts as the nation tightened security on the eve of
Independence Day celebrations, officials said on Thursday.
In two incidents in the volatile state of Tripura, armed militants fired
indiscriminately, killing 11 people in Kamal Nagar and 14 in Krishnapura
village.
A remote-controlled bomb earlier went off just as a bus was crossing a bridge
in neighboring Manipur, killing six passengers and wounding 13, a police
spokeswoman said.
"The incident appears to be connected with Independence Day," she told
Reuters from the state capital, Imphal, about eight kilometers (five miles) from
the site of the attack.
"Unidentified tribal militants from either the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF)
or the Nationalist Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) struck at Kamal Nagar and
Krishnapura," Dev Kumar Singh, deputy superintendent of the Tripura police, told
Reuters.
"The death toll has gone up to 25 from the two incidents and at least 19
others are injured," another police official said.
Tribal guerrillas in Tripura had killed three Bengali settlers in a market
late on Wednesday, a police officer said.
The NLFT and the ATTF are outlawed rebel groups who are fighting for a
separate homeland for tribal people. Both have called for a boycott of Friday's
Independence Day celebrations.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers, police and commandos are on high alert
across India, including in the disputed region of Kashmir, to ward off militant
strikes.
Kashmir's main separatist alliance, the All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom)
Conference, which seeks implementation of U.N. resolutions to determine the
future of the Himalayan territory, has called for a strike to protest against
the ceremonies.
