YANGON (DPA) - An unidentified armed group launched four explosive devices and fired several shots at a Myanmar police outpost in northern Rakhine state on Thursday morning (Jan 24), state media announced on Friday.

Two police officers and one military engineer were injured in the attack.

Violence has beset the Myanmar-Bangladesh border area for years.

In 2017, Myanmar's military killed thousands of Rohingya Muslims and displaced more than 700,000 in response to attacks on police outposts by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a Rohingya insurgent group.

This month, clashes erupted between the military and the Arakan Army, a Rakhine Buddhist insurgent group, displacing around 6,000 civilians.

Thursday's attack was reportedly launched from within Bangladeshi territory, and the attackers have not been officially identified.

One local administrator told The Irrawaddy newspaper that the attackers were identified as ARSA members in a police report, but experts say the attack did not display typical ARSA behaviour.

Mr Richard Horsey, a consultant for the International Crisis Group wrote on Twitter: "I'm dubious of the claim that ARSA has artillery or other heavy weapons. They've only used assault rifles and (improvised explosive devices) to date. I suspect a reporting error, but if it is confirmed, it's a significant development."

Myanmar authorities have sown confusion about the security situation in Rakhine state, attributing a Jan 16 attack on a police outpost to the Arakan Army before later blaming it on ARSA.

The Myanmar government summoned the Bangladeshi ambassador on Thursday and requested that Bangladesh work to prevent its territory from being used for "terrorism".