MOSCOW - A soldier opened fire Friday on his fellow soldiers in the district of Chita, administrative center of the far eastern Russian Trans-Baikal Territory, killing eight people and injuring another two, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"The culprit of the incident was detained. According to preliminary data, the cause of the incident could be a nervous breakdown caused by personal circumstances unrelated to military service," the ministry's Zvezda broadcasting service said.

The two injured were promptly taken to a hospital and they are not in life-threatening condition, it said.

A commission of the ministry headed by Deputy Minister Col. Gen. Andrei Kartapolov took off for the location of the incident, Zvezda said.