Military convoy hit by bomb near Yangon

YANGON, Sept 19 (AFP): Myanmar anti-junta dissidents have carried out a bomb attack on security forces near Yangon, with several killed in an ensuing firefight, the military and media said.

The Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil since the military toppled Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government in February, sparking mass pro-democracy protests and a bloody crackdown by the military.

Various townships across Myanmar have formed so-called "people defence forces" to fight back against the junta, although the majority of clashes have been reported in rural areas.

Security forces were travelling through Khayan, a suburb of Myanmar's commercial hub Yangon on Friday when they were attacked with a homemade bomb, the junta said in a statement on Saturday.

"Both groups fired back and forth-a member of the security forces was injured," the statement said, adding that firearms and ammunition were confiscated after the clash.