Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-10 23:12:50|Editor: yan

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BAKU, March 10 (Xinhua) -- An Azerbaijani serviceman was killed and another wounded in a shootout on Sunday when a border patrol unit tried to prevent a group of armed men from illegally crossing the border from Iran into Azerbaijan, the country's State Border Service said.

The incident took place near a border checkpoint in Bala Bahmanli village in Azerbaijan's southwestern district of Fuzuli when the armed group attempting to cross the border opened fire on the border patrol in response to warning shots, the border service said in a statement.

The armed group was forced to retreat.

A junior sergeant was hospitalized after receiving serious wounds in his chest and died in the hospital.

Another soldier was hospitalized with an arm wound, with no threat to his life, the border service said.

Chief of the State Border Service Elchin Guliyev, accompanied by senior officials, immediately rushed to the scene for an on-site inspection.

The Office of the Military Prosecutor has launched an investigation into the incident.