Two youths killed as bomb blasts hit Yangon
Explosions were reported in at least five townships in the city on Thursday, days after a similar series of blasts in Mandalay
Two youths were killed in Yangon’s Dagon and South Dagon townships on Thursday, allegedly while they were carrying out out bomb attacks on regime targets.
The first incident occurred on Ayeyar Wun Road in South Dagon at around 7am, according to residents of the area.
“I heard the sound of motorcycles, then around 10 gunshots, while I was praying in the morning,” said one woman who lives in the nearby Innwa Housing complex.
“I later heard that a young man was shot and killed,” she added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
According to the woman, the victim was shot while being pursued by police who suspected him of planting a bomb. She added that blasts had been heard coming from the direction of Joe Phyu Street, which is also in the same area.
About three hours later, another explosion was reported on Bo Yar Nyunt Street in Dagon, this time killing a young man believed to have been responsible for the blast.
“Only one person was killed in the explosion on Bo Yar Nyunt Street. I was told the victim was the bomber himself,” a police source told Myanmar Now.
A photo of the victim’s badly injured body has circulated widely on social media.
Residents of Yangon’s Insein, Dala, and North Okkalapa townships also reported explosions on Thursday, but details were not available at the time of reporting.
The blasts occurred amid rumours that two of Myanmar’s most prominent political prisoners, veteran activist Ko Jimmy and former MP Phyo Zayar Thaw, were due to be executed along with two other condemned prisoners on Thursday morning.
A member of a Yangon-based urban guerrilla force confirmed that the two men killed on Thursday were members of their group, but declined to provide further details.
Earlier in the week, three explosions hit junta targets in Myanmar’s second-largest city, Mandalay.
The first blast hit a ward administration office in Maha Aungmyay Township at around 2pm on Tuesday, residents of the area told Myanmar Now. No casualties were reported.
Later the same day, at around 5pm, another explosion was reported in the same township targeting a junta-appointed ward administrator named Nyunt Win. Local sources said that he escaped unscathed, but others in his home were injured.
The third blast, which also occurred in Maha Aungmyay Township at around the same time as the second, targeted a military truck carrying wounded soldiers.
“I heard that two of them were injured, but I personally think the actual count could be higher,” said one witness, adding that the explosion did extensive damage to the vehicle.
A Mandalay-based guerrilla group called Generation Z Power claimed responsibility for the attack.
