Assam town mourns blast victims

This woman was one of the many injured

Mourners in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam have been holding funerals for many of the 18 people killed in a bomb explosion on Sunday.

Most of the victims of the blast in the town of Dhemaji were children or their mothers participating in an Independence Day march.

Police blamed the attack on one of Assam's eight separatist groups.

The United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) had called for a boycott of Independence Day events.

Relatives of victims broke down as their bodies were laid to rest.

State mourning

"It was a very tragic scene to see sobbing parents lighting funeral pyres for their sons and daughters," local resident Khirod Saikia told Reuters news agency by phone from Dhemaji, some 460km (285 miles) east of the state capital, Guwahati.

"Some mothers fainted on the funeral ground," he said.

Assam declared a day of mourning on Monday, and several rallies were held in other parts of the state.

A powerful student group, the All Assam Students Union, has also called for a one-day strike on Wednesday in protest against the killings.

In a related development, Assam police say they have arrested an Ulfa activist in connection with the bombing.

One rebel was killed after the explosion, the police said.

Rebels in Assam have been fighting for independence since 1979 in a struggle which has claimed more than 10,000 lives.