Ahead of the Independence Day, terror strikes in the country. In a shocking incident, 3-4 terrorists dressed in army fatigue opened fire in Kokrajhar market, Assam on Friday. Reports suggest that the terrorists targeted the market, opened fire and then threw grenades.  While the Home Minister Rajnath Singh has been briefed about the situation.

Police have so far recovered 13 bodies and search operations are continuing in the area as the militants are suspected to be hiding in nearby buildings.
The entire area has been cordoned off by police and security personnel and the injured, many of them critical, are being shifted to nearby hospitals. The number of injured is, however, yet to be ascertained.

LIVE UPDATES: 

05.43 pm: Paying his condolences  and praying for peace in the state, Sitaram Yechury tweets:

05.12 pm: PM Narendra Modi tweets that he is saddened about Kokrajhar attacks and assures that the Home Ministry is in touch with Assam Government and is monitoring the situation carefully.

05.01 pm: It is a matter of concern, we will not allow peace to be destroyed in Assam, says Jitendra Singh

04.39 pm: Army carrying out extensive area domination operations in the strife torn District of Kokrajhar. It has also launched massive combing op, pressing into service specialised troops, tracker dogs & other specialised equipment.

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04.23 pm: No terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack as yet; there were around 7-8 terrorists in numbers, says Subhash Bhamre (MoS Defence)

04.20 pm: Assam Police, CRPF and Paramilitary forces are combing the area on the lookout for remaining terrorists. Moreover, Army is on standby and will be called in if necessary in Kokrajhar, says Assam Finance Minister Sarma.

04.14 pm: NSA Ajit Doval meets Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal over Kokrajhar

03.34 pm: Our Govt will take stern action against these extremist outfits. Also, ex gratia of Rs.5 lakhs will be given to next of kin of people who died, and Rs1 lakhs for those injured, says Assam CM on Kokrajhar

03.15 pm: Our PM and Home Minister have also discussed matter with me a few minutes back. They expressed their condolences. Our government is committed to protection of people of Assam, have directed senior officials to rush to the spot, says Assam Chief Minister Sonowal.

02.44 pm: Police suspect involvement of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) terrorists in Kokrajhar attack, says Assam DGP.

02.42 pm: Indiscriminate firing like this has not been seen. It will be premature to say who the terrorists were. We demand the government to make a statement about this in Parliament, says Gaurav Gogoi, Congress MP from Assam.

02.40 pm: We need to ascertain who is behind these attacks, says Rijiju.

02.31 pm: Soon after speaking to CM Sonowal, Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted that the Ministry of Home Affairs is closely monitoring the situation in Assam.

02.31 pm: I will speak with Assam administration about the situation. And will take care of victims and their families, says Kiren Rijiju

02.28 pm: Additional security forces have been rushed to the spot after extremists opened fire at civilians near Assam’s Kokrajhar, encounter underway.

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02.27 pm:  This is an attempt to destabilize peace, says Sarma.

02.21 pm: Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam Finance Minister confirms the death toll, says 12 people have been shot dead.

02.20 pm: 1 AK- 47 has been recovered from one of the terrorists and 2 terrorists have been neutralised. We are looking for 6 more, says FM Sarma.

02.15 pm:  CM Sonowal in Delhi, meets Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

02.13 pm: Mukesh Sahay, DGP Assam says, no terror group has so far claimed responsibility this is an old strategy of NDFB

02.11 pm: Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal speaks to PM Narendra Modi after extremists opened fire at civilians near Kokrajhar.

02.07 pm: 1 extremists killed in encounter with security personnel after extremists open fire at civilians near Kokrajhar,encounter underway.