Blast injures six people in Myanmar's former capital

Feb 28, 2011, 2:08 GMT

Yangon - An explosion near a bridge in Yangon injured six people including the man carrying the explosive device, police said Monday.

Police sources blamed the blast on a man identified as Zaw Min Than who was seen handing a bag to a betel nut salesman who had a booth near Aung Zeya Bridge, when the bomb was detonated at 7:10 pm Sunday.

'The bag exploded while he passed it to (the) shop and one of his legs was cut off by the blast,' one witness said.

Among the six people injured by the explosion, two were listed in critical condition, police said.

Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. Authorities have blamed past explosions in Yangon, the former capital, on political activists, or on Karen rebels who have been waging a struggle for the autonomy of the Karen State for the past six decades.

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