A Russian soldier on Friday shot dead at least eight of his fellow soldiers at a military base in the far east of the country, according to the Defense Ministry.

Russian news agencies reported that at least two others were injured during the attack at the facility in Gorny in the Baikal Lake region, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) north of the border with Mongolia.

Russia's Defense Ministry said in a statement that the two soldiers who were not killed "were promptly taken to a military hospital where they received necessary qualified medical assistance. Their condition is not life-threatening."

Two of those killed were officers while the rest were enlisted soldiers.

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Possible nervous breakdown

The statement was carried by Russian state broadcaster TASS. The Defense Ministry said the soldier "could have suffered a nervous breakdown due to personal circumstances unrelated to military service."

Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a murder case against 20-year-old Ramil Shamsutdinov, who is being treated as the main suspect.

The shooter was detained shortly after the attack.

Shootings and general violence were widespread in the 1990s and early 2000s, when cash shortages and low morale plagued the Russian military. In recent years such incidents have been rarer.

mm,ed/stb (dpa, AFP, AP, Reuters)