1st LD Writethru: Militants kill 14 in market attack in northeast India

At least 14 people were killed and more than 20 others injured after militants opened fire and hurled grenades at a busy market in the northern Indian state of Assam, a top police official said on Friday.

The incident took place at the busy weekly Tiniali market outside the state's Kokrajhar town, some 220 km from the largest state city of Guwahati, where hundreds of people gathered for trade.

"At least three to four militants attacked the market place in the afternoon. One militant has also been neutralized. We have launched an intensive operation to track down others involved in the terror attack," state police chief Mukesh Sahay told the media.

While 14 people lost their lives, those injured have been admitted to nearby hospitals where the condition of some are said to be serious, the official said.

Local TV channels reported that the area has been cordoned off by police and the Indian Army, and operations have been launched to track down the militants believed to hole up in nearby buildings.

Assam's Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal condemned the attack, adding that he has briefed Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh about the incident.

Police suspected that the militants who carried out the attack were rebels of the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland in Kokrajhar, which has been fighting for a separate homeland for the region's ethnic Bodo people. Endit