GAUHATI: Officials say that at least 12 people have been killed and 15 others injured after rebels opened fire in a crowded market in Assam state in India's remote northeast.

Top local police official L.R. Bishnoi said that six rebels fired automatic weapons and lobbed grenades Friday in the market in Balajan, an area just outside the town of Kokrajhar in western Assam.

Bishnoi says one gunman was killed by security forces and troops are pursuing five others who fled. Several homes and shops were badly damaged in the attack.

Police blame a faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland for the attack. The group is seeking an independent homeland for the region's Bodo tribespeople.