Thursday, August 10 2006 12:46 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Guwahati: At least nine paramilitary troopers were seriously wounded in a powerful grenade explosion in Assam, the latest in a wave of bombings in India's northeast linked to next week's Independence Day, police said today (Aug 10, 2006).

Guerrillas of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) late Wednesday tossed a grenade at a paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) patrol team near Panitola village, about 520 km east of Assam's main city of Guwahati.

"The CRPF team was patrolling a highway when ULFA militants hurled a grenade, wounding nine soldiers," Tinsuki district magistrate Absar Hazarika told sources by telephone.

Three of the nine injured were stated to be critical. Soldiers in western Assam averted a major disaster by seizing two suitcases laden with explosives from a bus in Sorbhog village.

"The unclaimed suitcases were seized during a routine search operation in the bus and later it was found to be loaded with explosives," an army commander said

. "Definitely the explosives would have been used to carry out violent strikes ahead of Independence Day," he said.

At least a dozen rebel groups in the northeastern states of Assam, Manipur and Tripura have called for a boycott of Independence Day events on Aug 15. Separatist rebels in the three states have stepped up violence over the weekend killing at least nine people and wounding close to 50 others in a wave of bombings and attacks on civilians and security forces.

Militants in the insurgency-hit northeast have for years been boycotting the Independence Day and Republic Day celebrations to protest New Delhi's rule over the vast region rich in oil, tea and timber. The run-up to the events has always been violent, with rebels striking vital installations including crude oil pipelines, trains, road and rail bridges, besides targeting federal soldiers.

More than 30 rebel armies operate in the northeastern states, their demands ranging from secession to greater autonomy and the right to self-determination. More than 50,000 people have lost their lives to insurgency in the northeast since 1947.