A military logistics train came under attack from two local People’s Defence Force (PDF) groups in Magway Region’s Pakokku Township on Tuesday morning, according to one of the groups involved.
An information officer for the Pakkoku PDF told Myanmar Now that the train was heading towards the town of Kyun Chaung from Pakokku when it was hit by four explosives between the villages of Nantawyat and Htanpinkaing.
The train’s engine and several cars at the front were badly damaged by the blasts, and at least five of the eight military personnel aboard were injured, the information officer said.
The attack was carried out in collaboration with the Myit Chay and Kyun Chaung Defence Force (MC-KCDF), another resistance group operating in the area, he added.
“According to an inside news source, all eight soldiers were admitted to the hospital and three of them had to have their legs amputated. However, we still have not confirmed this,” he told Myanmar Now.
He added that the destroyed train was later towed by another train towards Pakokku. He said he could not confirm if the train was carrying weapons and ammunition.
Kyun Chaung is en route to western Magway Region and Chin State, where the military has been carrying out a major offensive against local resistance forces.
Regime officials were unavailable for comment on the attack.
According to state media reports on Thursday, three people–“the train driver, his assistant and a member of the security force”–were injured.
On December 13, the Pakokku PDF and MC-KCDF carried out an explosive attack on two military vehicles on the Kyun Chaung- Seik Phyu road. At least seven junta soldiers died in that attack, according to an MC-KCDF statement.
Military supply trains were also the target of two PDF attacks in Mandalay region in September and October. No casualties were reported in either of those attacks.
