[Myanmar] Burma Army Casualties Reported Near Hpakant

The Kachin News Group has reported that at least six Burmese soldiers died in fighting with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) near Hpakant on Tuesday. The casualties, which included as many as 15 injured, were a result of two separate attacks, KIA officials said. The first was carried out by a Kachin militia fighting alongside the KIA known as the People’s Army, while the second was a bomb attack. Neither incident could be independently confirmed. Hpakant, known as the center of Burma’s jade industry, has become a major battleground in the Kachin conflict, which began in June 2011.