Guwahati: Suspected tribal separatists fatally shot 10 sawmill workers and injured eight others in two attacks in Assam, police said on Wednesday.
Rebels belonging to a ragtag group known as the ''Black Widows'' claimed responsibility for the attacks, which occurred on Tuesday night near Umrangshu, a town 300 kilometers (185 miles) south of state capital Guwahati, said Superintendent of Police, Deepak Kedia.
''The group telephoned local journalists and owned up to the killings,'' Kedia said. There was no independent confirmation of the police claim.
Most of the victims appeared to be migrant workers from outside Assam, he said.
''A group of about 10 militants armed with automatic weapons swooped on two sawmills, killing eight workers, and then moving about a kilometre away to kill two others at another mill,'' Kedia said.
The separatists also burned down five saw mills, two of which were owned by Hindi-speaking migrants who have been living in Assam for decades.
Earlier this year, suspected tribal militants in the adjoining Karbi Anglong district had killed more than 70 Hindi-speaking settlers in a protest against the presence of thousands of migrants from outside the state who, they claim, usurp the local population's job opportunities.
The ''Black Widows'' is a small tribal separatist outfit fighting for autonomy and rights of the Dimasa ethnic group who live in the North Cachar Hills district in southern Assam.
The group was formed in 2003 by the rebel fighters who broke away from the parent group, the Dima Halam Daogah, protesting the signing of a cease-fire agreement with the Indian Government.
Earlier this month, the Black Widows ambushed and killed seven paramilitary soldiers in the district.
Tension prevails in the area with suspected rebels killing a governing Congress party contestant in the local council elections currently being held in the district.
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