Azerbaijan launches military operation targeting Armenian positions; 2 civilians reportedly killed, including child

Azerbaijan's forces opened fire Tuesday on Armenian positions in the Nagorno-Karabakh region in what it called an "anti-terrorist operation," and ethnic Armenian officials reported at least two civilians were killed and 11 wounded and that there was heavy artillery fire around the region's capital.

The Azerbaijani defense ministry announced the start of the operation hours after four soldiers and two civilians died in landmine explosions in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The reports raised concerns that a full-scale war over the region could resume between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which fought heavily for six weeks in 2020.

The ministry did not immediately give details, but said front-line positions and military assets of Armenia's armed forces were being "incapacitated using high-precision weapons," and that only legitimate military targets were attacked.