Azerbaijan says 3 soldiers killed in clashes with Armenia

Three Azerbaijani soldiers were killed early Monday as fighting resumed between the country and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed landlocked region in the South Caucasus, the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan said Monday.

The ministry blamed Armenia for continuing to aggravate the situation despite a declaration by Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry on Sunday to unilaterally suspend all military operations and response measures.

It said that Armenian armed forces launched attacks in a bid to regain lost positions and that the Armenian side suffered heavy casualties.

The report is yet to be confirmed by the Armenian side.

Despite Azerbaijan's declaration on Sunday, the defense authorities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region said heavy battles were still going on in the northeastern and southeastern directions, denying that a real ceasefire had been implemented.

Hostilities along the contact line between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region reportedly flared up overnight Saturday with the two countries blaming each other for the escalation.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a bitter dispute over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region first broke out in 1988, when the region claimed independence from Azerbaijan to join Armenia.

Peace talks have been held since 1994 when a ceasefire was reached, but minor clashes occasionally occurred in the past along the contact lines and across the volatile frontline. The clashes escalated last month. Endi