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Militants blow up gas pipeline in Assam

GUWAHATI: Suspected separatist guerrillas bombed a gas pipeline in India's northeastern state of Assam late on Saturday night, a paramilitary officer said.

There were no casualties and the pipeline, owned by the state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, suffered minor damage, he said.

"The blast could cause only minor damage to the gas pipeline and it was repaired by engineers in the morning," the officer told Reuters.

The blast occured at Disangpani, some 360 km (225 miles) east of the state capital of Dispur.

Police in Dispur said the bomb had been set off using a remote controlled device. No other details were available.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack in the restive state, which has been plagued by separatist movements for more than a decade.

Tea plantations in the oil and tea-rich state have also witnessed a spate of robberies, kidnaps and murders.-Reuters