Guwahati: Banned ULFA (United Liberation Front of Assam) separatists in Assam on March 8 carried out a series of attacks setting on fire a 5000 KL petrol tank at the famous Digboi Refinery, blasting a gas pipeline nearby, attacking a police post and a commando barrack and firing at a Bihari settlement killing two persons and injuring six others.

The two deaths occurred in Lower Assam's Goalpara district where a police outpost was attacked. There was no casualty in the explosions in Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts of Upper Assam.

Self-styled Commander-in-Chief of ULFA Paresh Baruah rang up media houses in Guwahati this morning to claim responsibility for the attacks on the IOC's petrol storage tank near Digboi refinery in Tinsukia district and the damage to the gas pipeline in Dibrugarh district.

Deputy Commissioner, Tinsukia, B N Das said that the separatists appeared to have used rocket launchers or mortars in setting the oil tank on fire just after midnight. No casualties were reported.

Assam Oil Division Deputy General Manager Nandan Saikia said the blast caused two ruptures in the tank and said the preliminary loss was estimated at over Rs 10 crore.

Operations in the refinery were temporarily suspended, Indian Oil Corporation sources said.

Das said the flames at IOC's petrol storage tank initially leapt to 70 feet and were still flickering 30 feet high. About 70 fire tenders are struggling to douse the flames and prevent it from spreading to six other nearby tanks.

PTI