GAUHATI, India — Separatist rebels wearing black masks opened fire on Muslim villagers in remote northeastern India, killing at least 11 people, mostly women and children, in two overnight attacks, police said Friday. The gunmen are members of the Bodo tribe and belong to a faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland, said regional police inspector general L.R. Bishnoi. Bodo tribesmen have long accused Muslims of sneaking into India illegally from Bangladesh and encroaching on their ancestral land in Assam state. The dead included six women and three children, police said. The violence comes at a time of heightened security during India's general election, with the voting taking place over six weeks. – AP
