ANGON, Myanmar - A bomb blast in northern Myanmar killed two people and wounded more than a dozen on Wednesday, a military source and a member of a local rescue organisation told AFP.

"According to the initial report, two men were killed and 10 others injured by a blast" that happened around 6 pm (1130 GMT) near a petrol station outside the town of Lashio in Shan state, a military source who requested anonymity told AFP.

The source said the blast, which hit a nearby passenger bus, was caused by a bomb planted on a motorbike.

Local authorities were investigating, they said.

The blast killed two people and wounded 14, a member of a local rescue organisation told AFP, also requesting anonymity.

One body had been found inside the bus, which had been carrying around 30 passengers when it was struck, they said.

Fighting between the military and an alliance of anti-coup fighters and ethnic rebels has rocked parts of northern Shan state, near the China border, in recent days.

A spokesperson for the Ta'ang National Liberation Front, a prominent ethnic rebel group operating in the area, told AFP it was not behind the blast.

Since the military seized power in February 2021, Myanmar has seen almost daily bombings and targeted killings as the military and opponents of its coup battle each other.

Four people were killed in Lashio in April after a series of car bombs exploded at a pagoda where a crowd had gathered to mark the start of the Buddhist New Year.