Two killed in Assam bomb attack

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At least two people have been killed and several others injured when a bomb exploded in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam, police said.

The bomb was hidden in a bicycle parked near the police station in Jorhat town.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but police blamed separatist rebels of the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa).

Officials said the rebels were trying to create problems before next week's independence day celebrations.

Ulfa is fighting a long-running battle for an independent homeland in Assam.

The rebels accuse New Delhi of exploiting the state's natural resources while neglecting its people, who are ethnically closer to the people of Burma and China than to the rest of India.

Talks between the rebels and the Indian government broke down last September after a brief truce.

More than 20 people have been killed in a string of explosions across Assam in the last few months.