36 Killed as Bomb Rips Through Train

A bomb blew apart a car of a commuter train, killing at least 36 passengers and injuring 70 others in the northern state of Punjab, authorities said. The bomb went off soon after the five-car train left the railroad station of Bhatinda with 500 people on board. Eleven children were among the dead, a doctor said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Punjab was the scene of a 10-year secessionist campaign by Sikh militants, who want to carve out an independent homeland. The rebellion was crushed in the early 1990s, but sporadic violence continues.