At least 12 people - seven villagers and five separatists - were killed and up to 150 houses torched by rival tribesmen in separate incidents overnight in India's restive north-east, officials said Sunday.
A police spokesman said seven Karbi tribal villagers were hacked to death by militants from a rival group Saturday in Assam's Karbi Anglong district Saturday, 285 kilometres (175 miles) east of Assam's main city of Guwahati.
"Heavily armed militants raided the village and chopped off the heads of seven people with crude weapons," police official A. Das said.
Police suspect the Dima Halom Daoga (DHD), a rebel group fighting for an independent homeland for the Dimasa tribe in eastern Assam, to be behind the attacks.
And police shot dead two Karbi tribal militants in another encounter in the area.
In two more attacks Saturday, at least 130 houses were burnt down with the Karbi and the Dimasa's fighting each other in continuing ethnic clashes over land rights in the area.
The Karbis and the Dimasas have been engaged in a bitter turf war for many years with both the ethnic tribal groups fighting for territorial supremacy.