YANGON (Reuters) - A bomb blast killed two bank employees and injured 22 other people in Myanmar’s northeastern city of Lashio on Wednesday, the government and the military said.

People inspect the damage at a bank after a bomb blast, in Lashio, Myanmar February 21, 2018 in this picture obtained from social media. Ministry of Information Webportal Myanmar/via REUTERS

Police said an investigation was under way but would not elaborate on whether there were any suspects in the attack. Lashio is in Myanmar’s restive Shan State where several ethnic insurgent groups are fighting the Myanmar military.

“We just received a (local) police report about the bomb blast in Lashio (on Tuesday) evening,” police spokesman Colonel Thet Naing said in Myanmar’s capital Naypyitaw.

The two dead were both women, government spokesman Zaw Htay said in a post on Twitter linked to a government statement on the Lashio explosion.

The military said in a statement 22 people were injured.

Another police spokesman, Colonel Myo Thu Soe, said no suspects could be identified at this stage. “We’re still investigating,” he told Reuters.

A Lashio resident, 27-year-old Lway Dehnin, said she heard the explosion around 4:30 p.m. near two banks close to the regional health ministry building in the heart of the city of 170,000 people.

“The explosion happened near Aya and Yoma banks. The windows in the buildings were broken. Also the windows of the ministry of health and some nearby houses were broken,” said Lway Dehnin.

Yoma Bank said two of its Lashio branch employees were killed and that both of its branches in the city would be temporarily closed. Unverified photographs and video clips posted on social media by local residents and journalists showed the bank buildings with blasted windows and damaged signboards. A wall of Yoma Bank building also showed signs of damage.

Lashio is one of the largest cities in Myanmar’s northeast, straddling the main road connecting the central city of Mandalay with the main crossing on Myanmar’s border with China at Muse, about 110 km (68 miles) to the north.

Bomb explosions in cities in Shan are not unusual, but they are typically much smaller than Wednesday’s blast. Civilian fatalities and injuries are rare.

Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi wants to revive a stuttering peace process to end decades of ethnic wars. Two armed groups signed a ceasefire with the government last week.

Ending near-perpetual civil war has been Suu Kyi’s stated top priority, but the Buddhist-majority Southeast Asian country has seen the worst fighting with rebels in years since she took office almost two years ago.</s>BANGKOK — A bomb exploded at a bank in northern Myanmar on Wednesday, killing at least two people and wounding 22 others, military officials said. The explosion occurred in the often lawless city of Lashio, in northern Shan State, which has been torn apart by ethnic strife and battles to control smuggling networks.

Yoma Bank, one of Myanmar’s largest commercial banks, confirmed that two of its employees, Ma Maw Maw and Ma Sandar Tun, had been killed. “I heard the bomb blast and it felt like it also exploded my house,” said Min Nyunt, whose home is next to the Yoma Bank branch where the bomb went off. “Almost all of the bank has been destroyed.”

No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing, but such violence occasionally strikes Myanmar’s frontier region, where armed groups from a patchwork of ethnic minorities, including the Kachin, the Shan, the Ta’ang and the Wa — have battled the Myanmar military for decades.

Fliers were distributed publicly about a month ago in Lashio, the main city in northern Shan State, quoting a warning by Senior Gen. Kyaw Than Swe from the Myanmar Military Security Department that two ethnic militias, the Kachin Independence Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, were preparing to attack the city.</s>YANGON: A bomb explosion on Wednesday in Myanmar's northeastern city of Lashio killed two bank workers and injured 11 people, the government said. Police said they were investigating but had no word on possible suspects.

"It's true. We just received a (local) police report about the bomb blast in Lashio this evening," police spokesman Colonel Thet Naing based in Myanmar's capital Naypyitaw told Reuters by phone.

"Two innocent women dead, 11 civilians injured," Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay said in a post on Twitter linking to the government statement on the Lashio blast.

Another police spokesman Colonel Myo Thu Soe said the police could not name any suspects at this stage. "We're still investigating," he told Reuters by phone.

A resident of Lashio, 27-year-old Lway Dehnin, said she heard the explosion around 4:30 p.m. near two banks located at the heart of the city near offices of the ministry of health.

"The explosion happened near Aya and Yoma banks. The windows in the buildings were broken. Also the windows of the ministry of health and some nearby houses were broken," said Lway Dehnin.

Yoma Bank issued a statement saying two of its workers at its Lashio branch had been killed and that its two Lashio branches would be temporarily closed.

"Yoma Bank will continue to stand as one bank in this sorrowful situation," said the bank in a statement.

Reuters was unable to reach anybody at the bank by phone.

Several unverified photographs and video clips posted on social media by local residents and journalists showed the bank buildings with blasted windows and damaged signboards. A wall of Yoma Bank building also showed signs of damage.

Lashio, which has a population of more than 170,000 people, is one of the largest cities in Myanmar's northeast, located on a main road connecting the central city of Mandalay with the main crossing on Myanmar's border with China at Muse, about 110 km (68 miles) to the north.

It is one of the largest cities in the country's restive Shan State where several ethnic armed groups wage insurgencies against the Myanmar military.

Bomb blasts in cities in Shan are not unusual, but they are typically much smaller. Civilian fatalities and injuries as a result of such incidents are rare.

Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi is seeking to revive a stuttering peace process to end decades of ethnic wars. Two ethnic armed groups signed a ceasefire with the government last week.

Ending near-perpetual civil war has been Suu Kyi’s stated top priority, but the Buddhist-majority country has seen the worst fighting with rebels in years since she took office almost two years ago.</s>Two female staffers at the branch of Yoma bank in the town of Lashio were killed and 11 other people were injured, an officer says

YANGON, Myanmar – Two people were killed and several wounded when a bomb exploded Wednesday, February 21, at a bank in northern Myanmar, a security officer said.

Two female staffers at the branch of Yoma bank in the town of Lashio were killed and 11 other people were injured, the officer told the Agence France-Presse on condition of anonymity.

"Some nearby buildings were destroyed as well. The explosion was quite heavy. Security is still working to clear the area."

Pictures showed shattered windows at the bank, damaged cars on the street and rescue services arriving.

A branch of an adjoining bank was also damaged by the explosion. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Lashio is in the northern state of Shan, where ethnic armed groups are fighting the military for greater autonomy.

Civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who came to power in 2016, has made it a priority to try to end various decades-long armed conflicts. – Rappler.com</s>YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar authorities says a bomb exploded in a bank in the northern city of Lashio, a region where there is fighting between the government and ethnic minority guerrillas, killing two people and injuring 21 others.

The Facebook page of army commander Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said officials were investigating whether a terrorist group was behind the explosion Wednesday. Ethnic rebel groups that have not signed a cease-fire with the government are often described as terrorists. Several ethnic rebel groups are active in northern Shan state, whose capital is Lashio.</s>Myanmar authorities says a bomb exploded in a bank in the northern city of Lashio, a region where there is fighting between the government and ethnic minority guerrillas, killing two people and injuring 21 others.

The Facebook page of army commander Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said officials were investigating whether a terrorist group was behind the explosion Wednesday. Ethnic rebel groups that have not signed a cease-fire with the government are often described as terrorists. Several ethnic rebel groups are active in northern Shan state, whose capital is Lashio.

Military explosive experts, medics, local police and Red Cross workers rushed to the Yoma Bank branch after the explosion.</s>At least two people were killed and 15 were injured by a bomb blast at a bank in the city of Lashio in northeastern Myanmar, official media reported on Thursday.

The explosion took place on Wednesday evening, at a branch of the Yoma bank in Lashio - situated in restive Shan state - causing significant damage to the building and nearby structures.</s>YANGON, Myanmar — A bomb exploded Wednesday in a bank in the northern city of Lashio, a region where there is fighting between the government and ethnic minority guerrillas, killing two people and injuring 21 others, Myanmar authorities said.

The Facebook page of army commander Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said officials were investigating whether a terrorist group was behind the explosion. Several ethnic rebel groups are active in northern Shan state, whose capital is Lashio, and those that have not signed a cease-fire with the government are often described as terrorists.

The general’s page identified the two fatalities as female employees of the Yoma Bank branch where the blast occurred.

Military explosive experts, medics, local police and Red Cross workers rushed to the bank after the explosion, which occurred as it was closing for the day. Photos posted by the Information Ministry and on private social media accounts showed considerable damage to the bank, at two entrances. Vehicles parked outside also suffered damage.

Lashio, a major trading town, is 900 kilometres (560 miles) northeast of Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon, and about 140 kilometres (85 miles) south of an active combat zone. The groups battling the government there include the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, representing the minority also known as the Palaung, and the Kokang minority’s National Democratic Alliance Army.

Myanmar’s ethnic minorities, located mostly in border regions, have been battling the central government for more autonomy for decades.

Myanmar news reports last year said letters purporting to be from the Ta’ang National Liberation Army sought to extort money from hotels in Lashio as part of a protection racket, but the group denied responsibility.</s>Two people were killed and 22 wounded when a bomb exploded Wednesday at a bank in northern Myanmar, officials said, amid continuing violence despite a fraught peace process.

The bomb went off in the town of Lashio in Shan state, which has seen several ethnic insurgencies over the decades -- although targeted strikes in urban areas are rare.

Two female staffers at a branch of Yoma bank were killed, a security officer on the scene told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"Some nearby buildings were destroyed as well. The explosion was quite heavy. Security is still working to clear the area," the officer said.

The commander-in-chief's office said late Wednesday that 22 people had been injured.

Pictures showed shattered windows at the bank, damaged cars on the street and rescue services arriving. Soldiers were deployed at the scene.

A branch of an adjoining bank was damaged by the explosion.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Government spokesman Zaw Htay wrote on his Facebook page that two "innocent women" died in the bombing, while Yoma bank issued a statement of condolence.

"Yoma Bank is deeply sorry for this loss. We have to stand together united as 'One Bank' under this sorrowful situation," it said.

Some two dozen conflicts are festering around Myanmar's borderlands, where ethnic rebels have for decades fought the state for more autonomy.

Civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who came to power in 2016, has made peace a priority but she is in a delicate power-sharing agreement with the military.

Suu Kyi made some progress in the flagging peace process earlier this month when two ethnic groups, the New Mon State Party and the Lahu Democratic Union, signed onto a ceasefire.

They joined eight others who had inked the deal before she took office.

Myanmar's patchwork of ethnic groups make up around a third of the population, but the government and military have long been dominated by the majority Bamar ethnic group.</s>YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - A bomb exploded Wednesday in a bank in the northern city of Lashio, a region where there is fighting between the government and ethnic minority guerrillas, killing two people and injuring 21 others, Myanmar authorities said.

The Facebook page of army commander Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said officials were investigating whether a terrorist group was behind the explosion. Several ethnic rebel groups are active in northern Shan state, whose capital is Lashio, and those that have not signed a cease-fire with the government are often described as terrorists.

The general’s page identified the two fatalities as female employees of the Yoma Bank branch where the blast occurred.

Military explosive experts, medics, local police and Red Cross workers rushed to the bank after the explosion, which occurred as it was closing for the day. Photos posted by the Information Ministry and on private social media accounts showed considerable damage to the bank, at two entrances. Vehicles parked outside also suffered damage.

Lashio, a major trading town, is 900 kilometers (560 miles) northeast of Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon, and about 140 kilometers (85 miles) south of an active combat zone. The groups battling the government there include the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, representing the minority also known as the Palaung, and the Kokang minority’s National Democratic Alliance Army.

Myanmar’s ethnic minorities, located mostly in border regions, have been battling the central government for more autonomy for decades.

Myanmar news reports last year said letters purporting to be from the Ta’ang National Liberation Army sought to extort money from hotels in Lashio as part of a protection racket, but the group denied responsibility.

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A bomb explodes at a bank in Lashio, Shan State, in northern Myanmar, killing two employees and injuring 22 others.