Officials in the state of Assam in north-east India say Bodo separatists have killed three policemen and seriously wounded five others in an attack on a police station in Kokrajhar district.

The separatists, armed with guns and grenades, set fire to the police station.

The blaze spread to a nearby refugee camp, destroying nearly thirty huts.

Refugees in the camp -- tribespeople displaced during ethnic clashes with Bodos in 1996 -- retaliated by burning down some sixty houses in nearby Bodo villages.

Correspondents say the area is still tense, and there's a danger of further reprisals.