15 Armenian soldiers die in fire at military base

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia’s Defense Ministry says at least 15 soldiers have died in a fire at a military base. The fire swept through a barracks in the village of Azat, in Gegharkunik province in eastern Armenia early Thursday. The ministry said that three soldiers were injured and are in grave condition. It didn’t say what caused the fire. The Gegharkunik region borders Azerbaijan, which has been locked in a decades-long conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, which is part of Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994.