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14 killed, 15 injured in Assam’s Kokrajhar after terrorists open fire in market

thesolar65

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KOKRAJHAR, ASSAM: Fourteen civilians have been killed after terrorists opened indiscriminate fire at a weekly market at Balajan Tinali in the heart of Assam's Kokrajhar. Security forces in the area have killed one of the terrorists. Fifteen civilians have been reported injured in the incident.

An AK-47 has been recovered from the terrorist who was killed after an intense gun battle that lasted about 20 minutes. Additional forces have been rushed to the spot, even as other terrorists are being pursued by security forces. Apart from opening fire on the market, the terrorists also lobbed a grenade that ravaged three shops.

Assam DGP Mukesh Sahay has said the attack was carried out by the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit), or NDFB (S).

Assam Chief Minister Sarabananda Sonowal has spoken with Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the incident, news agency ANI reported.

This sudden incident of firing on people at a public place in broad daylight is first of its kind in the militancy-ravaged state. The shoot-out occurred when the state was in a state of high alert in view of the coming Independence Day.

Defence PRO Lt Col S Newton said, "We suspect there were at least three militants and one of them have been killed. Army is searching the area for the other militants."

Sources in Delhi have told TOI that the terrorists are suspected to belong to a Bodo outfit, that had issued a threat to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) recently. The sources said an attack in Kokrajhar had been anticipated.

A survivor, Santosh Narzary, a trader at the market, said, "I saw one gunman dressed in black raincoat-like gown and another two were sitting in an autorickshaw. He wasn't firing indiscriminately but targeting people and taking one shot at a time."


Times Now reported that one other person has been shot by the security forces, but there is no clarity yet on whether this person was one of the terrorists.

@halupridol @ranjeet
 
Rest In Peace to Dead. I wish and Pray for speedy recovery of those Injured. :cray:
 
Who in his right mind would open fire in a market place and that too in a village market? The report says that Bodo militants may be behind it, but it seems foreign hand behind it (not western). Investigation will tell, But till then we can pray for the injured only!!

RIP for the dead.
 
Damn, does anyone see an ISIS angle to it, i mean the border between India and Bangladesh is very porous in Assam. And our neighbor is infested with ISIS radical ideology.
 
It has been confirmed by Army that terror attack in Kokrajhar, Assam was carried out by NDFB (S). 14 civilians dead.
NDFB has an estimated 250 members in it's ranks.
Among the dead civilians, 6 are Bodos, 3 Muslims, 2 Bengali Hindus and 1 Assasmese.2 are unidentified.
The market was frequented by members of all communities.

There are reports that NDFB was angry with shopkeepers for not paying money to criminal gangs affiliated with NDFB

@thesolar65 @Skull and Bones
 
Shooting leaves 12 dead in busy market in India's Assam
Local officials quoted as saying dozens injured in Kokrajhar, town which saw deadly ethnic riots in 2012 and 2014.


; Unidentified armed men have killed at least 12 people and wounded dozens more in a busy market area in a town in India's northeastern Assam state, police officials say.

The attackers opened fire on Friday in the market in Kokrajhar, a town about 220km west of Assam's commercial capital Guwahati, Sreejith T, superintendent of police, told Reuters news agency.

One of the attackers was reported to have died. Local news channels said 20 of the injured were in critical condition and the death toll was expected to rise.

Security officials in Assam were quoted as saying that three or four armed men were involved in the shooting.



Assam has a history of sectarian bloodshed and groups fighting for greater autonomy or secession from India.

Speaking to Al Jazeera via Skype from Guwahati, Mrinal Talukdar, a local journalist, said: "The wounded and the dead were innocent villagers. Among the injured were two children as well."

No claims have been made but about three days ago, police arrested members of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDBF), a local armed group, in the same area.

Talukdar quoted a local politician as saying he suspected the NDBF of being behind the attack.

The NDFB seeks to establish a separate state for Bodo tribe members staying in Assam.

In 2012 there were clashes between Bodos and mostly Bengali Muslim settlers that resulted in hundreds of deaths. Hundreds of thousands were displaced.

Deadly riots erupted again two years later.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/...-dead-market-india-assam-160805091431104.html
 

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