Friday, August 11 2006 14:06 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Harinagar (Assam): Indian security forces Friday accused Bangladesh of amassing troops along its border in the northeastern state of Assam, a day after two Indian women were killed in heavy cross-border mortar attacks.

"We have been getting reports of troop build-up by Bangladesh with tension continuing to mount in the border area that witnessed heavy mortar attacks," S.K. Datta, Inspector General of India's Border Security Force (BSF), told sources.

Bangladesh soldiers Thursday attacked three Indian border posts with both flat trajectory weapons and mortars, killing two Indian women and seriously wounding two people near Kinorkhal village, about 350 km south of Guwahati.

They fired at least 70 mortars, damaging houses and shops in the area, besides using universal machineguns, carbines and other automatic weapons.

On the Bangladesh side, at least seven civilians were wounded in attacks by the BSF, said Syed Rezaul Gani, a spokesman for Bangladesh Rifles. Both sides have accused each other of provoking the clash.

"Never did the border witness such heavy mortar attacks before. The firing from across the border was unprovoked with Bangladeshi soldiers opening fire on us," said Datta.

There were no reports of clashes overnight with BSF soldiers put on maximum alert in the area.

"We are not taking any chances and are ready to challenge them if Bangladesh resorts to firing once again," he said.

At least 1,500 Indian villagers residing in four hamlets close to the firing range fled their homes Thursday and were sheltered in makeshift relief camps set up by the Assam government.

"There is tension in the area although some villagers are now moving back from the relief camps," Cachar district magistrate Gautam Ganguly told sources.

India and Bangladesh share a 4,095-km long border of which 272 km falls within Assam. Nearly 70 percent of the border along Assam has been fenced with barbed wire.

Troops of the two countries clashed in June near the same area with both sides exchanging heavy firing. The immediate provocation for the June 28 firing was over a strip of land measuring 216 acres near the Surma river which Bangladesh claims is its territory.

India maintains the land is not disputed and falls on the Indian side.

Further, the Assam government last month charged Dhaka with illegally grabbing two sq km of Indian land in western and southern parts of the state.

India has repeatedly charged that Bangladeshi citizens enter into Indian territory illegally across the porous border. Bangladesh, however, denies the accusation.

The two countries' border forces have clashed over the issue in the past. Sixteen Indian and three Bangladeshi soldiers were killed in 2001 in one of the deadliest battles in Assam and Meghalaya.