GUWAHATI, India, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Two children were killed by police gunshots and three officers died of injuries in hospital after a mob ransacked and set on fire a police station in India's restive Assam state on Saturday, police said.

The clashes began after police manning a check point stopped a local youth riding a motor bike and, after an argument, dragged him to a police station.

Hundreds of locals gathered at a nearby market and then attacked the police building, beating those inside. Four officers were critically injured, three of whom died later in hospital, including the officer in charge.

"Policemen in self-defence fired several rounds at the mob, killing two children on the spot and wounding over 20 (other people)," a senior Assam police officer told Reuters.

The ages of the children killed were not known.

The clashes occurred at Moirabari in the district of Nagaon, 120 km (75 miles) east of Guwahati, the state's main city.

Senior police officials said reinforcements had been rushed to Moirabari to control the situation.

Tens of thousands of people have died in an insurgency in Assam, where rebels accuse New Delhi of plundering the state's oil, timber and tea.

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