A resistance drone strike killed five regime officials in Myawaddy Township, southeastern Karen State on Sunday.
Federal Wings, a drone unit allied with the resistance group Cobra Column, told the Irrawaddy on Monday that it had targeted troops and police at the Myawaddy District Administration Department office in the town with two drones.
Sunday’s attack killed three regime-appointed administrative members, a high-ranking military officer and a policeman. Another 11 police officers were also wounded by the strikes.
A leaked official document listed the five victims as U Soe Tint, a district administrator; Lieutenant Colonel Aung Kyaw Min, commander of Light Infantry Brigade 275; two members of the Myawaddy Administrative Department; and a traffic policeman.
A police superintendent was among the officers wounded in the attack.
Sources said the first drone strike destroyed the roof of the administrative building while the second caused casualties among junta police and military personnel who were inspecting the damage.
Myawaddy town residents said they heard the explosion, but they were unable to confirm the number of casualties.
Tension is running high in Myawaddy Township after the strategic hilltop base of Lat Khat Taung was seized from junta troops by a combined force of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), Cobra Column and Federal Wings on July 21. The KNLA is an armed wing of the Karen National Union, one of Myanmar’s largest and oldest ethnic armed groups.
Junta Infantry Division 44 backed by reinforcements suffered heavy casualties in an attempt to retake the camp last month but was unable to get close to the foot of the hill, according to Cobra Column.
Federal Wings is conducting drone attacks in Karen and Kayah states and Sagaing Region.