"At least eight people have been killed in explosions at Myanmar’s main prison for political detainees after two bombs exploded on Wednesday morning. Three prison staff and five visitors, including a 10-year-old girl, died after the bombs hit a crowd queueing to drop off parcels for inmates at Insein Prison, junta authorities said in a statement. The visitors were delivering parcels to prisoners when the explosion occurred at about 9.40am, according to News of Myanmar, an online news service sympathetic to the country’s military government. The blasts occurred inside and outside the parcel reception office near the main iron gate of the prison in Yangon. State-owned MRTV said the explosions were caused by “mines inside parcels” while the military’s information office said an unexploded bomb had also been found in a parcel. At least 13 visitors, including a nine-year-old boy, and five prison personnel were reported to be being treated for injuries at Insein township hospital. The prison has been notorious for decades for holding political prisoners under various military governments whom often rely on friends or family for food and medicine supplies. Several resistance groups engaged in struggle against the military government, including the Yangon revolution force, Yangon urban guerrillas and the general strike committee, quickly released statements condemning the attacks for hurting civilians. However, a little-known anti-government group known as the special task agency of Burma later posted a statement on Telegram saying it had carried out the attack as “retaliation against (junta chief) Min Aung Hlaing” and the continued oppression of revolutionary fighters by prison personnel. The group said the civilian casualties were caused by indiscriminate gunfire by security forces after the blasts. “Today … the special task agency of Burma (STA), carried out two attacks to execute the prison head. We’re retaliating against Min Aung Hlaing and … the prison officers for continuously oppressing our revolution comrades,” Reuters cited the statement as saying. The south-east Asian nation has been in turmoil since a military coup last year, with swathes of the country engulfed by fighting. About 2,367 civilians have been killed in a crackdown on resistance, according to detailed lists compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a rights watchdog group. Photos of Wednesday’s bombings distributed by the military’s information office show items scattered by the blasts and blood on the floor inside the building where parcels for prisoners are received. A resident who lives near the prison’s entrance gate told The Associated Press by phone that he heard about 10 gunshots after hearing the two explosions but did not know if they caused any casualties. One witness queueing at the parcel counter told Agence France-Presse the first blast hit at about 9.30am (0300 GMT). “Then another two went off quickly. After that we heard shooting as well,” said the witness, who requested anonymity. “I saw some people bleeding. The glass around the counter was all shattered.” According to another witness, security forces locked down the area around the sprawling colonial-era prison after the explosions..."