Russian military helicopter shot down in Armenia, 2 killed

YEREVAN, Armenia — Russia said Monday that one of its military helicopters was shot down in Armenia, near the border with Azerbaijan, killing two servicemen.

The incident occurred near the border with the Azerbaijan exclave of Nakhchivan.

Armenian and Azerbaijani forces have been fighting for six weeks over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenians since 1994.

Nakhchivan is about 40 miles from Nagorno-Karabakh and it was not clear if the helicopter shootdown was connected with the conflict.

The defense ministry said the helicopter was accompanying a military convoy, but did not clarify the purpose of the convoy. Russia has a large military base in Armenia, but it is about 90 miles from where the helicopter was shot down.