Yangon blast kills 1—Myanmar official

YANGON—A blast in Myanmar’s commercial hub and former capital Yangon killed one woman and wounded another on Wednesday morning, a security officer said.

The explosive detonated close to a public toilet near a busy junction in the city’s north, he told AFP.

“A woman was killed and another woman was injured. The responsible authorities are trying find out the reason by clearing off this area,” he said.

Myanmar has been hit by several bomb blasts in recent years, most of them minor, which the authorities have blamed on armed exile groups or ethnic minority fighters.

In April last year, in the worst attack in five years in Yangon, a series of blasts left 10 people dead and about 170 wounded as thousands of people gathered for festivities to mark the Buddhist New Year.

The country’s long-ruling military junta gave way to an army-backed government in March.