Army colonel dies in Assam blast

By Subir Bhaumik
BBC News, Calcutta

An Indian army colonel and his driver were killed in a powerful landmine explosion in India's north-eastern state of Assam, officials said.

The army vehicle hit the landmine near the Balipara reserve forest in Sonitpur district, about 200km (124 miles) from Guwahati, a defence spokesman said.

The area has been cordoned off and a search operation has been launched.

Police have blamed the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) for the attack.

The NDFB is among a number of separatist groups fighting for an independent homeland for various ethnic minority groups in Assam.

"The explosion tore through the jeep savagely. The colonel and his driver died on the spot," a defence ministry spokesman in Calcutta told the BBC.

Other vehicles in the convoy were safe as they stopped immediately after the blast, he said.

The explosion occurred when the colonel was on his way to his base at Tenga valley in the neighbouring state of Arunachal Pradesh, bordering China.