Nagorno-Karabakh says 3 soldiers killed in drone attack

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — The defense ministry of Nagorno-Karabakh says three of its soldiers were killed in a strike by Azerbaijani drones.

The Friday incident raised concerns about the stability of a cease-fire that ended the 2020 war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the territory. More than 5,500 soldiers were killed in the six-week war that ended with Azerbaijan regaining areas surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh that had been under Armenian control since the end of a separatist war in 1994.

Most of Nagorno-Karabakh itself remains under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, although it is within Azerbaijan. The cease-fire was mediated by Russia, which then sent some 2,000 troops it called peacekeepers to the region.

The ministry did not give details of the attack. Nagorno-Karabakh ombudsman Gegam Stepanian said 14 others were wounded.