The Myanmar military launched an airstrike on Mogok town, temporarily controlled by the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), on the evening of July 26, according to sources.  

The airstrike reportedly hit the Golden Butterfly Hotel, which had been widely reported as a TNLA base.  

Mogok is currently under TNLA's temporary control, and the group has been expanding illegal mining operations in new areas. Locals say the targeted hotel is near recently opened mining sites.  

The Golden Butterfly Hotel is located between eastern and western Mogok, near Kyatpyin, at the base of a hill where new mining operations have recently begun. A local resident suggested that the military's strike was likely aimed at disrupting these illegal mining expansions rather than directly targeting the hotel itself.  

"The Golden Butterfly Hotel isn’t in the town center—it’s more in the forest between the eastern and western parts of Mogok. The hotel has been there for a long time, but new mining pits appeared only after TNLA took control. The strike was probably meant for those mining sites, not the hotel. Recently, a golf course was also hit because new mining was happening there," a Mogok resident explained.  

The Golden Butterfly Hotel is owned by businessman U Yaw Htet, who also operates a branch of the hotel in Yangon’s Bahan Township. However, sources say the Bahan branch has since been sold to another businessperson.  

The military has recently regained control of several strategic areas, including parts of the TNLA and People's Defense Force (PDF)-held Taungkam and Nawnghkio on July 16 and Thabeikkyin town on July 23.  

A military analyst noted that retaking Taungkam and Thabeikkyin holds significant strategic value, suggesting that an operation to reclaim Mogok may soon follow.