Students killed at Myanmar boarding school as junta escalates air war

A Myanmar military airstrike on a school last week killed at least 19 students, an ethnic militia said, as the war-torn nation's ruling junta steps up a campaign to retake territory ahead of a planned election in December.

Children were killed and injured at the boarding school in Kyauktaw Township in Myanmar's restive Rakhine state, the UN children's agency Unicef said in a statement.

It did not say how many were killed in the incident, but the Arakan Army, a militia battling the military in the western state, said at least 19, aged between 15 and 21, had died.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports, as internet and mobile services in parts of Rakhine have been cut off by the Myanmar junta and attempts to reach Kyauktaw residents were unsuccessful.

A spokesperson for the military did not answer telephone calls to seek comment.

"The attack adds to a pattern of increasingly devastating violence in Rakhine State, with children and families paying the ultimate price," Unicef said.