Four police officers have believed to have been killed and three injured during the raid that took place between 4 - 5 am, according to a source close to the Hpakant-based KIA Battalion- 6, which carried out the raid. A KIA soldier was also killed during the exchange of fire, a Kachin officer with the Battalion-6 told the Kachin News Group.

During the raid, KIA soldiers freed all the prisoners in custody, said a Kamaing resident. It’s unknown how many prisoners there were at the time of the raid. The KIA made away with a large cache of weapons, ammunition and even a motorcycle.

Shortly after the raid, government troops launched a barrage of shells at the KIA Battalion- 6 base located at Maw Mau Bum from the nearby Hpakant Military Strategic Command, according to locals. The shelling lasted 45 minutes; so far no causalities have been reported.

Fighting in the Hpakant area has been ongoing for the last month. A Burma army column overtook the KIA Battalion- 6 controlled Lai Nawng Hku post, located a few miles northeast of Ingdawgyi Lake (also Nawng Lut), on Dec. 12. But the KIA recaptured the post on Monday morning when Burma army troops withdrew, according to local sources. Over 200 civilians in Lai Nawng post area were displaced after the area fell to the Burma army. Very few if any have returned to their homes, according to an aid worker familiar with the area.

Locals said that as of yesterday, after the KIA's Battalion-6 set up a blockade, transportation from Myitkyina to Hpakant has ground to a halt .