Three killed, nine wounded in Myanmar bomb blast
Three people were killed and nine wounded in a bomb blast at a railway station in southern Myanmar on Monday, the junta and local media said. The blast hit a station at Nyaunglaybin township in Bago region around 150 kilometres north of commercial hub Yangon at around 12:20 pm local time, the junta's information team said in a statement. It released pictures showing debris and roof tiles littering a platform. Local media, citing residents, also reported three people had died and at least nine had been wounded. The junta statement blamed anti-coup "People's Defence Forces" (PDFs) for the attack, without offering evidence. The military and PDF groups have traded blame over several deadly blasts in recent months. There was no statement from the Bago region PDF, which claimed responsibility for an explosion that damaged a bridge in Nyaunglaybin on February 9. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military seized power two years ago, with anti-coup rebels clashing with junta troops across the country. There are almost daily killings of low-level junta officials or anti-coup fighters, with details murky and reprisals often following quickly. In December around a dozen people were injured in a blast on a ferry in Yangon. In October at least two bombs exploded outside a prison in Yangon, killing eight people and wounding 18. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing acknowledged recently that more than a third of the country's townships were not under full military control. (AFP)