Karabakh Defense Ministry reports death of seven Azeri soldiers
YEREVAN. March 6 (Interfax) - The Azeri Armed Forces committed 80 violations of the ceasefire regime along the contact line with the troops of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in the small hours of Friday. The troops returned fire, killing seven Azeri servicemen, the Karabakh Defense Ministry reported.
"The Armenian positions were shelled by 60mm and 80mm mortars, Istiglal sniper rifles, AGS-17 grenade launchers, and DShK and Kalashnikov machine guns. The Azeri Armed Forces used a ZSU-23-2 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun in the northern Shaumian sector. Karabakh Defense Army units deployed on the frontline opened return fire; three servicemen of the Azeri Armed Forces were killed and the ZSU-23-2 gun was destroyed," a ministry representative told Interfax.
Karabakh Defense Army servicemen held preventive operations in the northeastern sector of the contact line early on Friday morning, he said.
"The death of four servicemen of an Azeri special-purpose unit in the overnight fighting has been confirmed. The Armenian side suffered no casualties in the aforesaid operations," he said.