Eight dead in market blast in Assam

INDIA: A bomb exploded in a busy market in India's restive northeast, killing eight people and injuring 19, and authorities said they discovered and defused an explosive device hidden on a crowded passenger train headed for the area.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility in either incident Saturday, but police were investigating whether the United Liberation Front of Asom, a separatist rebel group, was involved. The ULFA, which has been fighting since 1979 for an independent homeland in Assam, has set off more than 20 bombs over the past two months, police said.

In Saturday's market blast, the explosives were packed in a three-wheeled auto-rickshaw, said S.N. Singh, police chief of Gauhati, the capital of the state of Assam.

Gauhati, Sunday, AP