Around 40 people in Myanmar have reportedly been killed and dozens injured in a military airstrike in Rakhine State.

A news site reportedly run by the ethnic minority group Arakan Army says Wednesday's attack targeted an area controlled by the rebel fighters. Hundreds of houses are said to have been destroyed.

Militants in the state have been fighting for their autonomy for years. The Arakan Army said last month it had seized the regional command center.

Almost four years since a coup, Myanmar remains wracked by fighting between the military and pro-democracy forces along with ethnic minority groups.

A local human rights group says more than 6,000 people have been killed in the conflict so far.