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Death Toll in Northeast India Attacks Rises to 72


A policeman walks past injured tribal demonstrators after a clash during a protest at Dekiajuli town in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, December 24, 2014.
A policeman walks past injured tribal demonstrators after a clash during a protest at Dekiajuli town in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, December 24, 2014.

Police in northeastern India say the death toll from a series of coordinated attacks by suspected tribal separatists has risen to 72.

Parts of Assam state remained under curfew Thursday following the violence there late Tuesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi called "an act of cowardice."

President Pranab Mukherjee condemned the attacks on his Twitter account Wednesday, saying "such acts of terror and violence must be put down with a firm hand."

Authorities have blamed an indigenous separatist group called the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB). India has designated the group as a terrorist organization and recently launched a crackdown against them.

The NDFB seeks an independent homeland for the indigenous Bodo people. The group has a history of violence against non-Bodos in the area since it formed in 1998. It last struck in May, killing dozens of Muslims.

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