At least 17 people have been killed and 20 injured in a bombing in the north-east Indian city of Imphal, police say.
A bomb in an auto rickshaw went off near a police base in the city, which is the capital of Manipur state. Police say most of the dead are civilians.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. It comes two days after a suspected militant grenade attack outside the chief minister's home.
Correspondents say Manipur is home to about a dozen rebel groups.
Some are fighting for the state's independence, others for autonomous tribal homelands.
The explosion ripped through a busy market area near an oil depot in central Imphal, where many people were eating in food stalls.
"It was a gory sight... bodies spattered in blood," said local journalist Yumnan Rupachandra.
Doctors say the death toll may rise as many of those injured are in a serious condition.
The blast went off not far from the residence of the Manipur Chief Minister, Okram Ibobi Singh, where an explosion occurred on Sunday in which no one was killed or injured.
A separatist group, the People's Revolutionary Army of Kangleipak, claimed responsibility for that explosion.
Intelligence officials say they do not rule out the involvement of another Manipuri rebel group, the Kanglei Yana Kana Lup, which recently attacked "corrupt" officials and beat up students suspected of cheating in examinations.
But they say the police commandos appeared to be the main target, as many of them eat in the local food stalls outside their headquarters.
A bomb in an auto rickshaw went off near a police base in the city, which is the capital of Manipur state. Police say most of the dead are civilians.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. It comes two days after a suspected militant grenade attack outside the chief minister's home.
Correspondents say Manipur is home to about a dozen rebel groups.
Some are fighting for the state's independence, others for autonomous tribal homelands.
The explosion ripped through a busy market area near an oil depot in central Imphal, where many people were eating in food stalls.
"It was a gory sight... bodies spattered in blood," said local journalist Yumnan Rupachandra.
Doctors say the death toll may rise as many of those injured are in a serious condition.
The blast went off not far from the residence of the Manipur Chief Minister, Okram Ibobi Singh, where an explosion occurred on Sunday in which no one was killed or injured.
A separatist group, the People's Revolutionary Army of Kangleipak, claimed responsibility for that explosion.
Intelligence officials say they do not rule out the involvement of another Manipuri rebel group, the Kanglei Yana Kana Lup, which recently attacked "corrupt" officials and beat up students suspected of cheating in examinations.
But they say the police commandos appeared to be the main target, as many of them eat in the local food stalls outside their headquarters.
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