Three explosive devices went off beside a road connecting the towns of Minbya and Mrauk U in Arakan State on Tuesday evening, damaging an express bus and a truck but leaving no casualties.

At around 7 p.m. yesterday, the three roadside blasts were reported between the villages of Tan Seit and Setkyar at the road’s 96/4 milepost, according to Nyi Nyi, a local police officer.

“Three bombs blasts at the same place,” he said. “I do not know whether those are handmade bombs or time bombs. The bombs went off when an express bus and a truck were nearby. The bus and the front part of the car were damaged by the explosion. No one was injured.”

The officer said no suspects had yet been detained in connection with the incident.

“We are still seeking to investigate the culprits. I do not want to accuse any party for now. We are deploying security personnel in the vicinity of the incident,” he said.

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The explosions come at a time of heightened tension across Arakan State, where in the north the military is engaged in a fierce counter-insurgency campaign against militants from the Arakan Rohingya Solvation Army. Minbya and Mrauk U townships are located southeast of the conflict zone.

“Locals are concerned,” said Thar Hla Tun, a resident of Myaung Bwe village in Mrauk U Township. “There are many issues arising in the other part [of the state]. The locals are afraid that those will spread to this area.”

“The nearby villages are Bengali villages so it would be great if the relevant authorities deploy more security personnel and handle security measures with as much care as possible,” he added, referring to self-identifying Rohingya Muslims by the term many in Burma use.