Updated 10/31 12:00 PM EST
At least 11 and possibly as many as 18 bombs were detonated in rapid succession in and around Guwahati, in the Indian state of Assam, killing at least 77 people and wounding at least 470 others. The bombs were largely hidden on motorcycles in crowded markets.
Local officials were quick to blame the blasts on the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), a militant separatist movement that has been banned in India and is regularly targeted by Indian forces. However, Assam has also recently been the site of massive anti-Muslim riots, and Major General Ashok Mehta told Reuters that the sophistication of the attacks suggested to him that “it is quite possible the separatist groups are not involved at all” and the real culprit is “terrorist groups from Bangladesh.”
The ULFA has formally denied involvement and no other group has taken credit for the blasts as of yet. Police have imposed a curfew in the region after angry crowds of protesters began forming in the streets. Pakistani officials sent a message to the Indian government expressing grief over the deaths and calling for the elimination of terrorists.