An Albanian army officer was killed on Saturday while defusing a shell at a military base in southeastern Albania, local media reported.

Sadik Basha was killed instantly when the shell he was dismantling exploded suddenly at a military base in Voskopoja, Korca, some 200 kilometers southeastern of Tirana.

The Albanian army is destroying all of its anti-personnel mines and shells as part of a program to scrap excess weaponry by 2010.

Source: Xinhua