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A service investigation is underway into the downing of the Nagorno-Karabakh helicopter by Azerbaijan and it will give answers to all the questions, Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Minister, Commander of Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army Movses Hakobyan told reporters at Yerablur Pantheon, following the funeral of the helicopter pilots.

The official stressed that Azerbaijan cannot restrict flights in the airspace of Artsakh. “The flights are and will be conducted in Artsakh,” he said.

Mr Hakobyan noted that this incident will not affect the fighting spirit of the Armenian army.

“The army is for war and this incident is an episode of war,” he said.

A MI-24 helicopter of the NKR Air Force was shot down on November 12 in the airspace in the eastern direction of the Karabakh-Azerbaijani border due to a ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani armed forces. The area where the helicopter was shot down was at a very short distance from the Line of Contact. The enemy opened heavy fire from guns of various calibers at the incident site.

On Saturday, the Armed Forces of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic carried out a special operation at the crash site of the Nagorno-Karabakh’s Mi-24 helicopter downed by Azerbaijan on November 12. As a result of the operation, the body of one crew member, the remains of two pilots as well as some parts of the helicopter were removed from the crash site.