LOC14:49
11:49 GMT
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 (KUNA) -- Authorities in Myanmar announced on Friday that at least 32 people were killed in attacks waged by Muslim Rohinga militants in western state of Rakhine.
Bureau of the country's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, said in a statement that 21 "rebels and 11 members of the security forces were killed in the attacks."
The militants launched coordinated assaults on police stations with locally improvised explosives.
The armed Rohingas targeted 24 police posts. Meanwhile, 150 gunmen attempted to burst into a military base in the state, but they were repulsed.
The recently-established radical group, called the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), is believed to be behind an insurgency in May Yu mountain range bordering Bangladesh.
Myanmar says the group is headed by Rohinga hardliners who were trained abroad.
The Muslim Rohinga community has often been targeted with violent attacks and indiscrimination. (end)
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