Blast in Assam Causes 4 Passenger Train Coaches to Derail; No Casualties

Guwahati, Oct 27 : A bomb blast in India's restive northeast state of Assam, Haflong derailed four coaches of a passenger train on Wednesday, but there were no casualties, an official said.

The train was moving at slow speed in a hilly section of North Cachar district, about 200 miles (300 kilometres) south of Gauhati, the capital of Assam state, said S. Hajong, a railroad spokesman.

The blast blew up a portion of the track, but there were no injuries among the nearly 250 people on board the train, Hajong said.

No one claimed responsibility for the blast.

Bhaskar Mahanta, an inspector-general of police, said it was difficult to pinpoint which rebel group was involved in the blast.

Two major insurgent groups, the rival factions of the Dima Halam Daogah, have been holding peace talks with the government, he said.

However, two small rebel groups have emerged in the region in recent months, he told The Associated Press.

The separatists accuse the government of exploiting the area's natural resources while doing little for the indigenous people, most of whom are ethnically closer to the people of Myanmar and China than to the rest of India.