3 Armenian Soldiers Killed, One Wounded In Anti-Tank Mine Explosion In Karabakh

STEPANAKERT — Three servicemen of Nagorno-Karabakh Defense army have been killed and another one was seriously wounded in a mine explosion reported at one of the military units stationed in the northeastern direction of the line of contact with Azerbaijan’s armed forces.

Nagorno-Karabakh’s Ministry of Defense said the incident occurred on Tuesday evening. It identified the killed servicemen as 22-year-old leutenant Gegham Zakarian, 19-year-old private Sargis Abrahamian and 20-year-old private Sargis Melikian.

Nineteen-year-old private Narek Hoveyan is currently being treated by doctors, his condition is assessed as heavy, the source said.

“Investigation is underway to establish the circumstances of the incident,” the Nagorno-Karabakh military said.

Armenia’s Investigation Committee also said that one of its units is investigating the circumstances of the Karabakh servicemen’s death.

In a statement it said that the servicemen were blown up by an anti-tank mine while carrying out engineering work.

The Investigation Committee said a criminal case has been instituted on the hallmarks of a penal code article dealing with “breach of rules for handling weapons, ammunition… that negligently caused the death of two or more persons.”

Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovannisian also confirmed that the case was not a consequence of “direct enemy impact”.

The latest deadly incident in Nagorno-Karabakh comes shortly after a regional tour by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov who visited Baku and Yerevan on November 19-21 for talks with the political leaderships of Azerbaijan and Armenia that also focused on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.