Karen rebel groups claimed to have killed 15 Myanmar junta soldiers, including a major and captain, and injured 21 others during a clash in Myawaddy Township, Karen State, on Tuesday.
The junta tried to retake a Mount Lat Khat Taung outpost, which was seized on July 21 by resistance groups and the Karen National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the country’s oldest ethnic rebel group, the Karen National Union (KNU).
Regime ground troops attacked predawn after the base was shelled and attacked by aircraft, said the Cobra Column, which took part in the fighting.
After suffering heavy losses, junta forces retreated.
Two resistance fighters, Lin Soe Oo, 22, and Khant Zin Win, 22, were killed and five others injured.
A video shows resistance fighters beside their dead comrades and attacking junta troops.
Another video showed dead junta soldiers and their weapons.
The Cobra Column said it seized a large number of weapons with ammunition.
The junta has tried at least 10 times to retake the fortress. A total of 17 soldiers, including two captains, were killed and 34 injured in the attempts, said the KNU.
A resistance fighter was killed and eight others were injured.
Two regime soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion 118 attempting to re-seize the hilltop defected to the resistance along with their weapons and ammunition, according to the KNU.
No other junta offensives have been reported in Kayah State in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, the armed wings of KNU and other resistance groups have stepped up attacks in Karen and Mon states and Tanintharyi and Bago regions and Naypyitaw.
