October 31, 2008	Friday	Ziqa'ad 1, 1429

GUWAHATI, Oct 30: At least 11 bomb blasts in quick succession ripped through the main city of India’s Assam state and three other towns on Thursday, killing at least 65 people and wounding 335, police said.

Security analysts said the blasts appeared to be coordinated.

Many of the blasts took place in crowded markets and bombs were hidden in motorcycles or scooters.

Firefighters doused smouldering remains of cars and motorcycles at one of the blast sites in Guwahati. One blast targeted a high-security zone with a court and offices and homes of senior police officers.

Television channels showed some people lying on the streets, their clothes soaked in blood. Some of the wounded were helped into ambulances by local people and police.

“Immediately after the blast there was complete darkness for a while and I later saw several bodies and severed limbs all around,” said Bikash Goyal, a witness in Guwahati.

A spokesman at the Assam chief minister’s office said 33 people had been killed in four blasts in Guwahati. The other 32 people were killed in the other three towns.

A wave of bomb attacks has hit India in recent months, killing more than 125 people.

“These blasts look like the handiwork of terrorist groups from Bangladesh,” Ashok Mehta, a security analyst, said in New Delhi.—Reuters