Azerbaijan Has Handed Command of Air Operations to Turkey, Says Defense Ministry

Azerbaijan indiscriminately launched an aerial bombardment of Artsakh Martakert, killing three civilians and causing extensive damage to residential and commercial buildings in the city, the Artsakh Defense Ministry reported Wednesday.

“An enemy warplane bombed the town of Martakert, killing three peaceful civilians, many are wounded. Official Baku is overtly attacking peaceful civilians, ignoring all norms of international law,” Artsakh Presidential spokesperson Vaharm Poghosyan said.

The Artsakh Human Rights Defender’s Office released the names of the three civilians killed in Wednesday’s aerial attack. They Hrant Khachatryan, 65; Lyuba Mamunts, 63; and Larisa Mamunts, 61.

Artsakh officials said that seven civilian have died since Azerbaijan began its attack on Artsakh on Sunday.

Armenia’s Defense Ministry announced that Azerbaijan has handed the command of its aerial offensive maneuvers against Artsakh to the Turkish Air Force.

“Since 10 a.m. today, two F-16 fighter jets of the Turkish Air Force flying from Kurdamir, as well as the Azerbaiajani SU-25 fighter jets, Bayraktar reconnaissance UAV fired rockets at settlements of Martuni and Hadrut.The air force operates under the command of the Turkish E7-T remote air command post from Erzurum to Kars.Probably the command of the Turkish Air Force is on the plane,” the Armenian Defense Ministry said.

Fighting continued along the perimeter of Artsakh on Wednesday, with advanced units of the Artsakh Army successfully destroying Azerbaijan’s heavy artillery and military vehicles.

The Armed Forces reported that Azerbaijan has lost Smerch and Uragan multiple rocket launchers, dozens of other artillery and antitank equipment, and 1 TOS 1, 11 tanks, three infantry military vehicles, and six armored personnel carriers in northern and southern directions.

On Tuesday, the armed forces of Azerbaijan began shelling in the direction of the military and civilian infrastructures of Armenia’s Vartenis region.

During this attack, the civilian population was targeted and commuter bus was his. This attack resulted in the death of one civilian.

Earlier on Tuesday, Armenia’s Defense Ministry reported that a Turkish F-16 plane attacked an Armenian military fighter jet in Armenia’s airspace over Vartenis, killing its pilot Valeri Daneli. Photos from the wreckage of the downed SU-25 were released late Tuesday. In a video (see below) the Armenia’s Defense Minister paid homage to the heroic pilot, who lost his life in the service of the homeland

According to Artsakh officials, Azerbaijan has lost nearly 800 troops with around 2000 injured during their operations against Artsakh.

As of Sunday, Armenian forces have destroyed nearly 80 drones, seven gunships, 137 tanks and armored vehicles, one warplane, 82 transport vehicles, three engineering-technical armored equipment and four armored personnel carriers of the Azerbaijani.

http://asbarez.com/197244/3-civilians-killed-as-azerbaijan-launches-aerial-bombing-on-artsakhs-martakert/