[Tee tiong huat]

Myanmar guerrillas claim rare downing of junta jet.

Myanmar anti-coup guerrillas to shoot down a junta jet on Tuesday, declaring a rare victory over air force that has kept them at bay in a grinding civil war. The military swiftly denied claiming, saying jet plane crashed near central village of Min Taing Pin around midday b'cos of “sudden engine failure” while “practicing flight.” Myanmar first lost a jet plane since ousted the democratic govt in 2021, analysts say air force backed by Russia & China allowed to fend off a myriad of lesser-equipped opposition groups. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) -- the armed wing of a Myanmar communist group said their fighters downed plane after 4-days of fierce in central Sagaing region, one of the areas worst-hit by the quake. “Our fighters were able to shoot down an attack jet today. A first in the history of PLA,” spokeswoman said.
Zaw Tun, a member of the local anti-coup People’s Defense Force, said they were fighting alongside the PLA when “our joint forces used machine guns and shot it down.” A local administrator from the rebel-held area, Zaw Htet, said two planes were returning from a bombing run when one was hit as both “flew very low on the way back.”

Images on social media, which AFP was not able to verify, showed opposition fighters travelling towards a flaming wreck in an area littered with metal debris including what appeared to be a piece of landing gear. But the junta info team said in a statement its own security forces had seized crash site & “relevant authorities are continuing investigation on cause of the engine failure.”
While junta jets have kept opposition forces largely confined to the Myanmar’s fringes, they have also been accused of striking civilian targets with impunity.
Junta air strike on school in Sagaing region in May killed at least 22 people, including 20 children, said witnesses.