NEW DELHI, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Twenty-three members of the Karbi tribe who were traveling by bus in the eastern state of Assam were killed apparently by a rival tribe, Indian officials said.
Two buses in which the victims were traveling were burned.
"Attackers in black fatigues and their faces covered, intercepted the buses going toward Diphu at Charmchim region of Assam on Monday, " said Assam Commissioner B.K. Gohain.
Gohain said those who survived alerted the nearby outpost under the Kherni police station.
"The Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council, a body formed by the federal government to run the administration in the tribal majority areas, operated the two buses," said a state police official.
The state police said the attackers used sophisticated weapons, giving rise to speculation a militant group may have been involved. Gohain said shoot-at-sight orders were issued and an indefinite curfew clamped in the affected areas.
The death toll in the area from ethnic clashes between the Karbi and Dimasda tribes since September is now 62.
