Azerbaijan has apologized for "accidentally shooting down" a Russian Mi-24 helicopter over Armenia, saying it is "ready to pay compensation", Izvestia reports.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said the helicopter "flew in close proximity to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, in the dark, at low altitude, outside the radar detection zone of [the country's] air defense [units]," claiming that the Azerbaijani side had not previously seen Russian Air Force helicopters in the area.

Baku, in particular, cited "the tense situation in the region" as a reason for the their decision to open fire on the aircraft.

Two members of the crew died while a third was injured in the crash, the Russian Defense Ministry said earlier. The Mi-24 aircraft accompanying a convoy of the Russian military base in Armenia was shot down with a man-portable air-defense system (MANPAD), the Ministry added, stressing that the incident took place in the airspace of Armenia, outside the combat zone.

Azerbaijan, with help from Turkey and terrorist mercenaries deployed by Ankara, started a war against Karabakh (Artsakh) in the morning of September 27. The Armenian side has reported deaths and injuries both among the civilian population and the military. Foreign and local journalists too have been injured in Azeri shelling of towns and villages.