Bomb at India Independence Parade Kills 15.

NEW DELHI - A bomb exploded during an Independence Day parade in India’s remote northeast Sunday, killing at least 15 people, including schoolchildren, while a rocket attack during a celebration at a school in the separatist region of Kashmir injured 17, officials said.

The attacks came as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pledged to fight terrorism during a speech at New Delhi’s 17th century Red Fort, a tradition followed by each prime minister since India gained independence from two centuries of British colonial rule on Aug. 15, 1947.

The powerful bomb went off on the grounds of a local college in Dhemaji, where the parade was being held, killing 15 people, local lawmaker Dilip Saikia told The Associated Press. The remote town is 1,015 miles northeast of New Delhi, in the state of Assam.

Seven of those killed were schoolchildren, Assam Home Minister Rockybul Hussain said.

Another explosion also took place in the nearby town of Dhakuakhana minutes before a parade could start there. No casualties were reported, Sharma said.

The outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom, which had called for a boycott of Independence Day celebrations, was suspected of being behind the two attacks, Inspector General of Police Khagen Sharma said. The group has been fighting for a separate homeland since 1979 in an insurgency that has left more than 10,000 dead.