The Azerbaijani Armed Forces releases footage on Wednesday showing what it said were successful strikes against Armenian forces using the Turkish-made Bakar Bayraktar TB2 armed drones.
According to a press release from the Ministry Of Defense Of Azerbaijan, illegal Armenian armed formations in the territory of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent is temporarily deployed, grossly violated the provisions of the Statement of November 10, 2020, and committed a terrorist and sabotage act against the Azerbaijan Army Units on August 3.
“Members of illegal Armenian armed detachments attempted to seize the Girkhgiz high ground, located on a mountain range covering the territory of the Kalbajar and Lachin regions, and establish new combat positions there,” the news release says.
The Azerbaijani military carried out a “Revenge” retaliatory operation in response, killing and wounding an unspecified number of “illegal Armenian militants.”
The official press release also states that as a result of the “Revenge” retaliatory operation conducted by the Azerbaijan Army Units, the Girkhgiz high ground, including Saribaba and several advantageous high grounds along the Karabakh range of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains were taken under control. Currently, Azerbaijan Army Units are carrying out engineering work on the establishment of new positions and laying supply roads on advantageous frontiers.
Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
Their most recent clashes were in September 2020, during which Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for nearly three decades.