BAKU, September 29. /TASS/. Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry has dismissed reports a Sukhoi-25 jet of Armenia's Air Force was downed by an F-16 fighter-bomber on Tuesday morning.

"The report alleging Armenia's Sukhoi-25 was destroyed by an F-16 fighter is a lie," Defense Ministry spokesman Vagif Dargyakhly told the media on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day Armenia's Defense Ministry said that a Turkish fighter jet F-16 shot down a Sukhoi-25 of the Armenian Air Force. According to its statement, the Turkish plane, while staying inside Azerbaijan's airspace, was providing support for Azerbaijani forces that were shelling the territory of the Armenian city of Vardenis. A spokesman for the Turkish presidential office dismissed these charges.

Tensions over Nagorno-Karabakh surged on September 27. Combat clashes are underway in the disputed territory. Azerbaijan and Armenia have introduced martial law and declared mobilization. Both parties to the conflict report casualties, including civilian ones. Baku claims it has gained control of several villages and strategic heights in Nagorno-Karabakh. Yerevan says there have been bombardments of Armenia's territory.

Baku and Yerevan have disputed sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh since February 1988, when the region declared secession from the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic. During the armed conflict of 1992-1994 Azerbaijan lost control of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven neighboring districts.