April 3, 2016 - 13:59 AMT
One Armenian, three Azerbaijani tanks destroyed north of contact line

The Armenian side took punitive measures in the northern direction of the Karabakh contact line Saturday, April 2, destroying three Azerbaijani tanks, as well as a fighting vehicle and military equipment.

A spokesperson for the Karabakh Defense Army, Senor Hasratyan said that the number of neutralized Azerbaijani tanks currently stands at 14, RFE/RL Armenian Service reports.

According to Hasratyan, the rival has so far destroyed one Armenian tank.

The information about casualties on the Armenian side is being checked, he said.

On the night of April 1-2, Azerbaijani armed forces initiated overt offensive operations in the southern, southeastern and northeastern directions of the line of contact with Nagorno Karabakh, using artillery, armored fighting vehicles and air force equipment among other weapons.

Aside from the battles on the frontline, the rival has also carried out artillery strikes on civilian settlements and places of permanent deployment of several military units.

On April 2, at around 8:30 am, the rival used BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher in the Martuni direction of the contact line. 12-year-old Vaghinak Grigoryan was killed in the shelling, two more children were wounded.

Earleir, the Nagorno Karabakh special forces identified an Azerbaijani subversive group near the Levonarkh settlement and threw the saboteurs back to their positions.

According to Armenia’s Defense Ministry, the rival troops retreated after suffering several human losses.

As many as 18 Karabakh servicemen were killed and 35 were wounded in the course of military operations with Azerbaijani army on April 1-2, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said at a Security Council meeting.

Starting at 6:00 am, on April 3, the Azerbaijani armed forces have been conducting aggressive military actions in the southern direction of the line of contact, using rockets and artillery, as well as armored fighting vehicles.