GUWAHATI (India) - AT least five people were killed on Thursday in separate bombings in the Indian city of Guwahati, police said, blaming a well-known insurgent group active in the northeast of the country.

Two of the bombs went off in crowded marketplaces while the third explosion was reported beside a road in Guwahati, the largest city in the troubled state of Assam, officials said.

Guwahati police chief G.P. Singh said the blasts were from improvised explosive devices probably planted by the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) ethnic guerrilla force.

'No one has claimed the blasts but we suspect the ULFA seems to be behind these attacks,' Mr Singh told reporters.

Police officials said the two bombs to hit markets were packed with steel balls and attached to bicycles, while the third was placed in a rubbish bin. At least 50 people were injured.

The Press Trust of India said the serial blasts took place as Indian Home Minister P. Chidamram was on an official visit to Guwahati to review security in India's restive northeast.

In the past two decades, more than 10,000 people have lost their lives to insurgency in Assam state, which is known for its tea, timber and oil reserves.

The latest blasts occurred just over a month after an attack on India's financial hub Mumbai which left 172 people dead, including nine gunmen.

In October last year 71 people were killed and scores hurt when a series of bombs exploded in towns and cities across Assam.

The Indian government blamed the ULFA but it denied involvement. A group calling itself the 'Islamic Security Force-Indian Mujahideen' later claimed responsibility. -- AFP