A group of unidentified attackers shot and killed five police officers on the Yangon circle line on Saturday evening, a striking train worker told Myanmar Now.
The gunmen rode the train and then launched the attack when it stopped at a station near Ahlone Township, the worker said on condition of anonymity, citing a railway police officer who is familiar with the case.
“One of the policemen shot back at the gunmen,” he said, though he added that none of the attackers were killed or captured. “Passengers and other people on the train were safe as they were asked to get off before the shooting happened, I heard.”
Lance-corporal Win Zaw Latt and three privates died at the scene, he added. Two corporals, Myint Htay and Kyaw Zin, were sent to the 500-bed Defense Services Orthopaedic Hospital in Mingalardon Township, he added. Myint Htay later died at the hospital.
Soldiers came to collect the bodies of the four police officers at the station and did not make any arrests, he said. No one has claimed responsibility for the killings.
The officer who survived, Kyaw Zin, was asleep when the attack started. “He woke up when he heard voices and got shot in the chest,” the worker said.
One of the privates who died was 20-year-old Ye Min Tun. A relative of his told Myanmar Now the family was still trying to retrieve his body.
Photos of the policemen lying dead on the train went viral on Facebook on Saturday evening.
The pro-military People Media news outlet reported the killers took four guns from the police officers.
The junta has not commented officially on the attack and its spokesperson could not be reached for comment.
The incident is the latest in a series of attacks by guerrilla fighters against junta targets. Local administrators, soldiers, police, and suspected military informants have been killed and injured across the country.
