Russian soldier opens fire on fellow servicemen

ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia -- A Russian soldier apparently under the influence of narcotics opened fire on fellow servicemen, killing at least eight of them and wounding three others -- the latest in a string of shooting sprees in the nation's demoralized military.

The soldier, identified as Denis Solovyov, fired his Kalashnikov assault rifle at a tent early Friday as his 11 comrades were resting while on patrol at Russia's border with Georgia in the Caucasus Mountains, the military said. Solovyov was detained immediately.

Lt. Col. Yuri Kolodkin, a duty officer with the regional Emergency Situations Ministry's branch, said a preliminary investigation indicated Solovyov was in a state of narcotic intoxication.