At least nine people were injured in a midday bombing outside a bustling government office in Myanmar's second largest city on Wednesday, in what seemed to be the country's latest high-profile attack by militants opposed to the country's military rulers.

Other attacks by government opponents were also reported on opposition-friendly social media and news websites. Shootings and explosions in Myanmar's cities, as well as armed battles in the countryside, are commonplace, and United Nations officials and other observers have warned that the instability sparked by the military's seizure of power in February is spiraling into civil war.