4:21am UK, Friday October 31, 2008

The death toll from a string of bombs in the Indian state of Assam branded “an act of cowardice” by a senior official has risen to 76.

Vehicles burn after one of the blasts in Guwahati

A total of 12 bombs went off within the space of about one hour, six of them in the city of Guwahati. More than 300 people were injured.

The chief minister of Assam Tarun Gogi, who confirmed the number of dead, described the attacks as “an act of cowardice… designed and carried out to spread terror”.

Guwahati was worst-hit but there were also deaths in Kokrajhar and Barpeta, officials said.

Sky’s India correspondent Alex Crawford said of the bombs: “They went off within minutes of each other and were planted in crowded markets, inside court complexes and administrative blocks.”

Dramatic footage of the aftermath of the bombings showed rows and rows of burned-out cars, injured people and large plumes of smoke.

Firefighters were attacked for arriving too slowly, Crawford added.

Dozens of people stoned vehicles and set fire to at least two fire engines on the streets of Guwahati.

Police imposed a curfew on the city and shut down roads leading in and out of the area.

The Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh said after the blasts: “People should fight terrorism unitedly.”

Police in Assam are on high alert and are searching for more unexploded bombs, deputy inspector of general police NI Hussain said.

“There may be more blasts. You never know,” he said.

The Assam region, famous for its tea-making, is torn by dozens of militant separatist groups.