Azerbaijani army continues operation in occupied land

BAKU / ANKARA

Azerbaijan's military continues its operation to save its occupied land, according to the country’s Defense Ministry on Tuesday.

In a statement, the ministry said operations against Armenian forces continued throughout the night in Aghdara, Agdam, Fuzuli, Hadrut, Jabrayil, Qubadli, and Zangilan.

Armenian forces opened fire on the defense line of the Azerbaijani army with artillery and mortars, the statement added.

The Azerbaijani army destroyed two T-72 tanks, four grad missile systems, one D-30 howitzer, and five vehicles belonging to the Armenian forces, it also said.

According to the statement, several Armenian soldiers were neutralized in the operations and the situation at the front was under the control of the Azerbaijani army.

In an address to the nation, President Ilham Aliyev said that since operations started on Sept. 27, some 241 Armenian tanks had been destroyed and 39 seized in working condition, adding that these were later used against the Armenian army.

Besides other weapons and equipment belonging to the Armenian forces, the Azerbaijani army also destroyed four S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems, he said.

"The price of this system is well-known. It is a very expensive weapon," he added.

Upper Karabakh conflict

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.

Fresh clashes erupted on Sept. 27, and Armenia has since continued its attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces, even violating humanitarian cease-fire agreements.

The OSCE Minsk Group -- co-chaired by France, Russia and the US -- was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail.

Turkey has supported Baku's right to self-defense, and demanded a withdrawal of the occupying forces.