YANGON, March 17 (Xinhua) -- An insurgent group of the Arakan Army (AA) has attacked a civilian vessel, setting fire on it and abducting the crew members in Paletwa town, Myanmar's western Chin state, the Myanmar Police Force said on Sunday.

The MV Yadana Win 7, carrying 300 steel frames for the Paletwa Bridge project, sailed from Yangon to Paletwa via Sittway and Kyauktaw, was attacked by the AA near Namada village in Paletwa on Saturday.

The attack forced the vessel to dock by the river bank where the AA set fire on it and abducted the crew members.

The vessel was carrying steel frames, paint, high tension bolts and other bridge construction materials worth about 1.072 billion kyats (699,214 U.S. dollars).

However, the abducted crew was later released, the Myanmar Police Force said, adding that the authorities are pursuing the AA militants.

The incident was the latest in a series of AA attacks in western Rakhine state during the first half of this month.