An explosive device planted near an army truck killed three soldiers in Mandalay Region’s Madaya Township on Monday, according to the local chapter of the anti-regime People’s Defence Force (PDF).
The vehicle, which had been used to patrol the area some 30km north of the city of Mandalay, was parked in front of a school in the village of Kyauktada when the incident occurred, a spokesperson for the Madaya PDF told Myanmar Now.
“The military truck ended up parking in a minefield,” he said, adding that five other soldiers escaped unharmed because they weren’t near the vehicle at the time of the explosion.
Two of the victims were killed instantly, while the third died of head injuries on the way to the hospital, he added.
He also claimed that the explosive was planted a safe distance away from the school, at a spot that was chosen because it was often used by junta troops when they were in the village.
No official statement has been released by the regime regarding the incident, and Myanmar Now was unable to independently verify the number of casualties.
Due to its proximity to Mandalay, Madaya Township is subject to frequent military patrols. Junta troops in the area are also regularly targeted by resistance forces—most recently on Sunday, when drones were used to drop explosives on a column of around 60 soldiers near the village of Myaung-U.
Clashes were also reported last week after an army logistics convoy was hit while transporting supplies to villages occupied by regime forces near neighbouring Singu Township. The fighting lasted two days, until the junta carried out a series of airstrikes on May 25.
No casualty figures from those attacks were available at the time of reporting.
