A fire that broke out overnight in the barracks of an Armenian military unit claimed the lives of 15 soldiers and left three others in critical condition, the country's defence ministry reported on Thursday.

"According to preliminary information, fifteen service members perished in a fire that broke out in the barracks of a military unit's engineer and sniper company... and the condition of three service members is rated as serious," the ministry said a statement.

According to the ministry, the fire broke out in the village of Azat in the eastern Gegharkunik area of Armenia at approximately 01:30 on Thursday morning (2130 GMT Wednesday).

It was stated that the fire's cause had not yet been determined.

More than a dozen people were murdered in an explosion and subsequent fire at a crowded market in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, in August of last year.

The Caucasus nation of approximately three million inhabitants is still rebuilding from a war with Azerbaijan in 2020, which resulted in a crushing loss and precipitated a political crisis.

Despite the cessation of large-scale fighting, border tensions remain between the ex-Soviet foes.