Suspected separatist rebels have killed two people and injured another 19 in Guwahati - the largest city in India's north-eastern state of Assam.

Police said the attackers drove past the offices of regional Assam Gana Parishad Party (AGP), late on Wednesday firing rockets and lobbing grenades.

The rebel insurgency dates back to 1979

The building is located at Ambari in the heart of Guwahati's central business area, close to the state capital, Dispur.

Intelligence officials said they suspected the involvement of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa).

Two months ago, Ulfa rebels launched a similar attack on the government offices in the state capital.

Ulfa has been fighting for Assam's independence for the past two decades, but politically it has suffered a lot of casualties, says the BBC's Subir Bhaumik.

Politicians targeted

The first rocket hit a residential area housing railway employees, killing a woman and a child, Inspector General of Police Khagen Sharma told the Associated Press news agency.

A second rocket, fired about 10 minutes later, hit two cars on a busy street.

Police in Guwahati said a former member of the Indian parliament, Prabin Sharma - who is also a senior AGP leader - was injured in the attack near party offices at Ambani at about 6:30 pm (13:00 GMT).

No group has said they carried out the attack.

Ulfa, established in 1979, is Assam's most prominent separatist group fighting Delhi's authority.

Assam and several other north-eastern Indian states have seen separatist violence between guerrillas and security forces for decades.