The boarding school with 32 students is located in N’Jang Kawng ward (Thida in Burmese) in Kachin state’s capital Myitkyina. It was attacked with bombs by unidentified terrorists, according to locals.

The students who died in the attack were around 10 years old. They included the two sons of Dayau Tang Gun, the boarding school’s headmaster as well a member of the local firefighting squad, said relatives.

The attack left 27 students injured. Four students were released from the Myitkyina Public Hospital on Monday evening after receiving treatment, hospital sources said.

Inside the damaged house.

Orphans and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), victims of the current fighting in Kachin State, were among the students there. They were learning about Kachin culture and practicing martial arts while staying at the school and attending government schools, said residents.

The boarding school and two adjacent homes were completely gutted after the explosion, according to eyewitnesses.

According to those eyewitnesses, two passing motorcyclists threw a package at the boarding school prior to the blast.

No group or organization has claimed responsibility so far for this deadly attack and Burmese authorities are investigating, locals said.

A day earlier, there had been a series of mine explosions at three different areas in Myitkyina at about 9:55 p.m. The explosions occurred--- near Irrawaddy River Bridge, in front of the Telecommunication Office and a bus station, said residents.

Kachin community leaders in Myitkyina expressed to Kachin News Group, their deep worries about the new war and its effects upon the Kachin people.