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Puck
The Texan
Joined: 05 Jan 2004
Posts: 5596
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 Fri Sep 03, 2004 7:39 am Russia's school seige ends in bloodbath (UPDATED 9-7-04) |
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Russians Storm School; at Least 7 Killed
Friday, September 03, 2004
BESLAN, Russia — At least seven people were killed and 250 people wounded during gunfire and explosions at a southern Russia (search) school as commandos stormed the building to end a three-day hostage siege.
The Russian news agency ITAR-Tass reported that five of those killed were children. About 180 of the injured were children, regional emergency officials said.
All the hundreds of hostages had been evacuated from the gymnasium where militants had put them after seizing the building on Wednesday.
The hostages had been held by heavily armed militants who were making a series of demands involving the war-torn region of Chechnya (search).
As the commandos charged into the Beslan (search) school, dozens of captives escaped the building, some of them bloodied and screaming.
An Associated Press reporter heard gunfire throughout the town, and two columns of smoke rose from the school. Four armed men in civilian clothes running from school, and asked if they were looking for someone, one answered, "A militant ran this way."
Some children were covered in blood, some of them carried away to a temporary hospital set up behind an armored personnel carrier. Many were only partly clothed because of the stifling heat in the gymnasium where they had been held since the militants took the building, and drank eagerly from bottles of water given to them once they reached safety.
A nurse spread clean sheets on stretchers, and told AP that Russian officials expected "very many" wounded. In another part of town, several dead were covered with white sheets, and a woman peered under one to see who the slain person was.
Five militants were killed in the raid, the ITAR-Tass news agency said. The Interfax new agency said several militants who escaped the school were in a local residence surrounded by troops.
The assault came after several explosions boomed from the area and dozens of hostages fled the school.
The militants reportedly fired at children who ran from the building, and unconfirmed reports said some of the hostage-takers, possibly including women bearing suicide belts, had fled during the chaos and may have taken hostages with them.
Women escaping the building were seen fainting and others, some covered in blood, were carried away on stretchers. After the escape, commandos assaulted the building.
Interfax said the school's roof had collapsed -- possibly from the explosives some militants had strapped to their bodies. The militants had reportedly threatened to blow up the building if authorities tried to storm.
On Thursday, the militants had freed about 26 hostages, all women and children, and Russian officials had been in negotiations with the militants since they had seized the building Wednesday.
There were conflicting reports of the number of hostages, with official saying about 350 and people among a small group freed on Wednesday saying there were about 1,500.
President Vladimir Putin (search) had said that everything possible would be done to end the "horrible" crisis and save the lives of the children.
Two major hostage-taking raids by Chechen rebels outside the region in the past decade prompted forceful Russian rescue operations that led to many deaths. The most recent, the seizure of a Moscow theater in 2002, ended after a knockout gas was pumped into the building, debilitating the captors but causing almost all of the 129 hostage deaths.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Last edited by Puck on Fri Sep 03, 2004 10:57 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Dirt
Exercise Boy
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 2086
Location: a tree
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| Fri Sep 03, 2004 11:03 am |
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A little more than 7 now.... 
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Link, the Hero of Time
Vice Admiral
Joined: 15 Sep 2001
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Jeremy
J's Guy
Joined: 03 Oct 2002
Posts: 7823
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| Fri Sep 03, 2004 1:24 pm |
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| AOL News wrote: | Russia's school siege ended in a chaotic bloodbath with more than 150 hostages and some of their captors killed when special forces stormed the building in an unplanned onslaught.
The bloody outcome reflected badly on President Vladimir Putin who had pledged to do everything possible to save the lives of the 1,200 hostages - almost 850 of them children.
His adviser on Chechnya, Aslanbek Aslakhanov, said the death toll might be "much more" than 150. And military chiefs face the axe for allowing their troops - including crack special forces - to launch the raid.
"No military action was planned. We were planning further talks," said the regional head of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), Valery Andreyev.
Troops surrounding School Number One in the small Caucasus town of Beslan, 1,00 miles from Moscow, were expecting another long day of waiting and negotiations when suddenly all planning was thrown out of the window.
Reports suggested the militants had agreed to let Russian authorities retrieve the bodies of 10 to 20 hostages who had been killed. Emergency personnel went to get the bodies, and the gunmen began setting off bombs and opening fire on people around the school,
A group of near naked children and their mothers then began fleeing from the school. Some gunmen - or women - left the school and began chasing the escapees.
Russian special forces began firing back, and in the words of one local "All hell broke loose." An explosion - thought to be the gunmen detonating charges - blew the roof off the school gym where hundreds of hostages where being held.
At least three gunmen, including possible their leader, were said to be blockaded in the school basement seven hours after the onslaught began.
In the mayhem some of the gunmen - and at least two gun women - escaped with the fleeing hostages and were being hunted throughout the North Ossetia town of 30,000, near the Chechen border. Russian forces killed 20 of the hostage-takers - some described as "Arab mercenaries" - but 13 others escaped. |
This is the latest update.
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
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Location: Classified
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| Fri Sep 03, 2004 4:53 pm |
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HORRIBLE! But, this is World War II for you. And that's why we HAVE to stop terrorists--PERIOD.
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"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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Founder
Dominion Leader
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 12755
Location: Gamma Quadrant
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| Fri Sep 03, 2004 6:17 pm |
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This is terrible. We need to stop these terrorists. Its one thing to fight your enemy but civilians?
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Puck
The Texan
Joined: 05 Jan 2004
Posts: 5596
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| Fri Sep 03, 2004 11:11 pm |
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| Quote: |
More Than 200 Said Killed in Russia Siege
Friday, September 03, 2004
BESLAN, Russia � More than 200 people were dead after a three-day-long hostage standoff at a school in southern Russia (search), officials said Friday.
Regional health officials told the Interfax news agency the death toll had topped 200. Earlier in the day officials had warned that the number could exceed 150.
The terrorists who besieged the school on Wednesday finally ceased fighting with security forces on Friday. The hostage takers, who had been demanding independence for Chechnya (search), had been trading fire from the school basement and a nearby house after Russian commandos stormed the building. After about 12 hours, the Russian government said resistance had ended, though four others were still being sought. There were also reports that three arrests.
Emergency Situations Ministry officials said 704 people were hospitalized, including 259 children. Many were badly burned.
Officials said security forces had not planned to assault the school, where the militants had been holding hostages � up to 1,500 of them, according to one freed captive � in the gymnasium since Wednesday morning. But the troops' hand was forced when the militants set off explosions and began shooting Friday afternoon, officials said.
Some of the hostages were wounded or killed when terrorists fired on those who were fleeing and Russian forces fired back.
Several of the hostage-takers fled following the raid. Many may have changed out of their militants gear into civilian clothing, further complicating Russian forces' efforts to hunt them down.
Troops were engaged in "fierce fighting" for hours with militants, who still held some hostages, said Valery Andreyev, the regional Federal Security Service chief. Three militants reportedly barricaded themselves in the basement.
Soon after nightfall, a large explosion issued from the school, and officials at the crisis operations center said later that resistance was over. They said four militants remained at large, but it was not clear if they held any more hostages. Channel One TV reported three militants were arrested after trying to escape in civilian dress.
Officials at the crisis headquarters said 95 victims have been identified so far. Health Ministry officials said the total death toll was more than 200, the Interfax news agency reported.
Officials also told FOX News that 10 of the 20 terrorists killed by Russian soldiers were "Arab mercenaries."
Jihadists from the Middle East have joined the Chechen uprising since it began after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, but their numbers have always been small, according to Alexei Malashenko at the Carnegie Moscow Center (search). Chechen fighters, who come from a less restrictive Muslim tradition, have also tended to chafe under the Arab fighters' extremism.
Unprecedented Act
The hostage-taking was an unprecedented event in the region, according to a FOX News military analyst.
"The is a whole new escalation," said Air Force Lieutenant General (Ret.) Tom McInerney.
McInerney cautioned against criticizing Russia's security forces for their handling of the standoff.
"You can't do a pinpoint strike. We have never seen such a large number of hostages taken by terrorists [in this region] before."
McInerney also said Washington had reason for alarm. "The question is whether it's going to roll West into Europe and into our own country," he said.
Commandos had stormed the Beslan school earlier Friday and battled terrorists holding hundreds of hostages as crying children � some naked and covered in blood � fled through explosions and gunfire.
The captives were taken by heavily armed terrorists who were making a series of demands involving the war-torn region of Chechnya, including a request that Russian troops leave the area.
A hostage who escaped told Associated Press Television News that the militants numbered 28, including women wearing camouflage uniforms. The hostage, who identified himself only as Teimuraz, said the militants began wiring the school with explosives as soon as they took control.
The hostage standoff began when the terrorists, some with explosives strapped to their bodies, stormed the school Wednesday morning.
The terrorists kept the hostages in a sweltering gymnasium, refusing to let in food or water.
"They didn't let me go to the toilet for three days, not once. They never let me drink or go to the toilet," Teimuraz told APTN.
The children who were rescued drank eagerly from bottles of water given to them once they reached safety. Many of the children were only partly clothed because of the stifling heat in the gymnasium.
"I am helping you," a man dressed in camouflage told a crying girl. Women gathered around, trying to soothe her, saying "It's all right. It's all right."
About a dozen hostage-takers escaped, with the Interfax new agency reporting that they split into three groups to blend in with the hostages and took refuge in a home nearby. Tank fire was heard from the area of the house, Interfax said, and gunfire rang out through the town for hours.
The White House branded the hostage-taking "barbaric" and "despicable," and said responsibility for dozens of lost lives rests with the terrorists.
"The United States stands side by side with Russia in our global fight against terrorism," spokesman Scott McClellan said.
President Bush was briefed on developments in Russia Friday morning before a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. He did not talk about the standoff during his speech.
Who Are the Terrorists?
Nobody has claimed responsibility for the hostage-taking at the Beslan (search) school, but Alexander Dzasokhov � the president of the North Ossetia (search) region, where the school is located � said the terrorists had demanded independence for the nearby war-torn region of Chechnya. It was the first official word connecting the hostage-taking to Russia's conflict with the mostly Muslim region.
Insurgents fought an earlier war for Chechen independence, a conflict that ended in stalemate. In the years since, the rebels and their sympathizers have increasingly taken to assaults and attacks outside the tiny republic.
Some Arab fighters have joined the Chechen militants, including rebel commander Abu Walid, a zealously Muslim Saudi-born warrior, and Omar Ibn al-Khattab � now dead � another Saudi-born militant who joined top rebel warlord Shamil Basayev in 1999 raids in Dagestan that helped prompt the current Chechen war.
Their participation has bolstered President Vladimir Putin's case that Russia's campaign in Chechnya is part of a war on international terrorism.
Putin said Tuesday that the claim, while unconfirmed, was the latest demonstration of links between Chechen militants and international terrorists.
"If a terrorist organization claimed responsibility for this, and it is linked to Al Qaeda, then this confirms a link between certain forces operating on the territory of Chechnya and international terrorism," he said.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there isn't evidence that Al Qaeda is involved, but the Chechen rebels have been linked to the Muslim extremist group in the past and the new interest in aviation and increasing sophistication of attacks gives reason to be suspicious.
"It can't be ruled out, but there isn't any evidence of connections," the official said.
Homicide bombers are a new phenomenon for Russia, but hostage-taking raids have been part of the militant strategy since shortly after Russian forces rolled into the region in 1994 in a bid to crush the separatist government of Dzhokhar Dudayev.
In the last two weeks Russia has been hit with a series of deadly attacks.
A suspected Chechen homicide bomber blew herself up Tuesday outside a Moscow subway station, killing nine people and wounding dozens. She was believed to have been one of the region's "black widows" � Chechen female homicide bombers who have caused carnage in Russia to avenge husbands or male relatives lost in the deadly conflict.
And just over a week ago, 90 people died in two plane crashes that are suspected to have been blown up by bombers also linked to Chechnya. Each plane carried one woman passenger who purchased her ticket under a Chechen name and was never identified or claimed by relatives.
Two major hostage-taking raids by Chechen rebels outside the region in the past decade prompted forceful Russian rescue operations that led to many deaths. The most recent, the seizure of a Moscow theater in 2002, ended after a knockout gas was pumped into the building, debilitating the captors but causing almost all of the 129 hostage deaths.
Lev Dzugayev, a North Ossetian official, said the attackers might be from Chechnya or Ingushetia. Law enforcement sources in North Ossetia and Ingushetia, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the attackers were believed to include Chechens, Ingush, Russians and a North Ossetian suspected of participating in the Ingushetia violence.
"They are very cruel people, we are facing a ruthless enemy," said Leonid Roshal, a pediatrician involved in the negotiations. "I talked with them many times on my cell phone, but every time I ask to give food, water and medicine to the hostages they refuse my request."
FOX News' Dana Lewis and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Micteth-Son of Udas
Klingon Warrior
Joined: 20 Jul 2002
Posts: 3202
Location: rite behind you!
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| Fri Sep 03, 2004 11:39 pm |
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excuse my languge, but im fifteen, most of the hostiges are my age, if i saw one of those guys id kill him so slowly!
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Defiant
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 04 Jul 2001
Posts: 15946
Location: Oregon City, OR
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| Sat Sep 04, 2004 12:38 am |
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Wow...that sucks quite a bit...That shouldnt have happened!
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Puck
The Texan
Joined: 05 Jan 2004
Posts: 5596
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| Sat Sep 04, 2004 7:45 am |
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Updating the death count once again...
| Quote: | | The ITAR-Tass news agency quoted Russian Deputy Prosecutor Sergei Fridinsky as saying 322 bodies, including those of 155 children, had been recovered from the school. |
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Captain Dappet
Forum Revolutionist
Joined: 06 Feb 2002
Posts: 16756
Location: On my supersonic rocket ship.
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| Sat Sep 04, 2004 10:30 am |
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There wasnt very much the Russian government could do, though...It's against their policy, and many other countries(USA included, I think?), to trade hostages and bargain with Terrorists.
Rest in Peace, those who died.
I don't believe Russia will let this happen unpunished. They might go chasing terrorists just like the States.
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Sat Sep 04, 2004 11:08 am |
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| Micteth-Son of Udas wrote: | | excuse my languge, but im fifteen, most of the hostiges are my age, if i saw one of those guys id kill him so slowly! |
SAME HERE! But they're not most your age, as there were ages 1-15 or so there, and there were LOTS of preteens and younger there.
This is Horrific!
| Captain Dappet wrote: | There wasnt very much the Russian government could do, though...It's against their policy, and many other countries(USA included, I think?), to trade hostages and bargain with Terrorists.
Rest in Peace, those who died.
I don't believe Russia will let this happen unpunished. They might go chasing terrorists just like the States. |
Hey, it's World War III. But I'm glad it's pretty much over.
-------signature-------
"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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Captain Dappet
Forum Revolutionist
Joined: 06 Feb 2002
Posts: 16756
Location: On my supersonic rocket ship.
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| Sat Sep 04, 2004 11:35 am |
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What is? The war or the hostage situation? I dont believe the war is pretty much over, if thats what you were saying.
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Sat Sep 04, 2004 12:10 pm |
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| Captain Dappet wrote: | | What is? The war or the hostage situation? I dont believe the war is pretty much over, if thats what you were saying. |
Oh, no, I wasn't saying that. I was saying the Hostage situation. The war is not over.
-------signature-------
"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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Morphy
Forum Ogre
Joined: 15 Jun 2001
Posts: 3858
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| Sat Sep 04, 2004 7:08 pm |
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Death toll tops 350 ?!?
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Defiant
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 04 Jul 2001
Posts: 15946
Location: Oregon City, OR
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| Sat Sep 04, 2004 7:09 pm |
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It just keeps getting better...
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Theresa
Lux Mihi Deus
Joined: 17 Jun 2001
Posts: 27256
Location: United States of America
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| Sat Sep 04, 2004 10:31 pm |
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Even Putin is now saying that it could have been handled better. That poor guy has been going through some massive stuff these past few weeks.
But hey, it's only terrorists, and we don't need to do anything about them, so why are we all so upset?
^TOTAL sarcasm in that last statement, in case you missed that. I think it's horrific that children had to die for something that they aren't even barely aware of yet.
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Morphy
Forum Ogre
Joined: 15 Jun 2001
Posts: 3858
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| Tue Sep 07, 2004 4:53 am |
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Didn't the Russians handle some theatre incident questionably to? Many hostages died because of the top-secret gas they used to succumb the bad guys?
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Oliver
Thought Maker
Joined: 28 Feb 2004
Posts: 6096
Location: Antwerp, Belgium
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| Tue Sep 07, 2004 1:54 pm |
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^Very true, the 'theatre incident' happend two years ago.
Russian's policy in situations like that is to attack when trouble is heard. That's what happend in the school a few days ago. The police and special forces surounded the school and waited for their orders. Suddenly, when lots of shots were heard from inside the school, the police had the order to attack.
In all the confusion, the terrorists killed even more people and blew the classrooms to pieces. It's even said that some terrorists might have escaped. We'll probably never know.
The problem is that dealing with terrorists is not as easy as it sounds. So far, there isn't a single country free of terrorists.
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Theresa
Lux Mihi Deus
Joined: 17 Jun 2001
Posts: 27256
Location: United States of America
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| Tue Sep 07, 2004 2:33 pm |
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| Quote: | Russians Rally Against Terror After Deadly Siege at School
Putin Vows No Talks With 'Child-Killers'
By Tom Miles, Reuters
MOSCOW (Sept. 7) -- Russians massed in the hundreds of thousands on Tuesday to denounce terrorism, as President Vladimir Putin rejected talks with Chechen separatists, blamed for at least 335 deaths in last week's school hostage siege.
In Moscow, tens of thousands gathered at an evening rally near Red Square in the heart of the city, streaming across a bridge with Russian and Soviet flags held high, as truckloads of police, many with dogs, patrolled.
Rallies were held across the country following the siege at a school in the southern town of Beslan. Around half of those killed in the operation to retake the school were children.
''Children are our future, defend them,'' read one banner in Moscow. ''Russia's heart is in Beslan today,'' said another.
Religious and government officials addressed the crowd from a makeshift platform at the foot of St Basil's cathedral, each ending their speech with a defiant: ''We will win!.''
Broadband Only
Russians Rally Against Terrorism
Howls of Grief as Town Buries Children
One Girl Shot 46 Times in the Back
| Theresa wrote: | | I know we can't access the link from this article, but I left this in so you could read the last item. |
''Muscovites! We are not weak. We are stronger than them! Stronger!'' Moscow's high-profile mayor Yuri Luzhkov bellowed. ''The fascists couldn't beat Russia and terror won't beat Russia either. We are together. We are going to win!''
Putin had earlier rejected talks with Chechen separatists, and ruled out a public inquiry into the storming of the school.
''Why don't you meet Osama bin Laden, invite him to Brussels or to the White House and engage in talks, ask him what he wants and give it to him so he leaves you in peace?'' he said.
''You find it possible to set some limitations in your dealings with these bastards, so why should we talk to people who are child-killers?'' he added in a meeting with journalists.
Opposition politicians said the Moscow rally was intended to parry criticism of the Kremlin's handling of the crisis and Putin's failure to ensure security for ordinary Russians.
Pressure on the media to toe the line increased on Monday with the sacking of the editor of the respected daily Izvestia, which splashed harrowing pictures in its Saturday edition.
But Putin appeared to be avoiding personal criticism for Beslan, with a survey showing most Russians blamed corrupt special forces for failing to prevent rising terrorism. Few held the president responsible.
Fifty-four percent said the security and police services were corrupt and 23 percent said they did not know how to do their job properly.
'PAIN THAT CAN NEVER EASE'
Beslan buried more of the dead from the chaotic operation to free them from captors demanding independence for Chechnya.
The ruins of School No. 1, where more than 1,000 hostages were held for 53 hours, have become a memorial where processions stop and lay flowers on their way to a new cemetery for victims.
Heavy rain on Monday and overnight turned the improvised extension to the cemetery into a sea of mud, with family members slipping as they trudged across the field to bury their dead.
Every few meters a new grave was being dug or filled with a coffin. Behind them a mechanical digger gouged out more graves.
''The whole town is crying, wailing for the pain that can never ease,'' said Masha, neighbor of four-year-old Rada Solkazanova and her mother Larisa, buried together on Tuesday.
''Now all people want to do is find their loved ones and bury them. Can you imagine the pain of never knowing what happened and never burying your children?'' she added.
''They're not people, they're animals,'' said Assiya, another neighbor. ''They call themselves Muslims, but what have they got to do with any kind of religion if they can kill children?''
BUNGLED OPERATION
Critics say Putin failed to keep a pledge he made on coming to power in 2000 to end the separatist revolt in Chechnya. They also say troops bungled Friday's operation.
Over the past two weeks, Chechen rebels have also been blamed for the downing of two airliners, killing 90 people, and a suicide bombing which killed 10 at a Moscow metro station.
NATO and Russia agreed to boost cooperation on Tuesday after the siege. Ambassadors from NATO states and Russia in Brussels condemned the ''barbaric and insidious'' global terror threat and pledged to develop an action plan to defend their peoples.
Chechnya has long been a problem in cooperation between Russia and Western countries, many of which question Moscow's rights record as it fights separatism.
The European Union has advocated a political solution to the 10-year Chechnya conflict, which has ravaged the tiny province.
Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot outraged Russia when he called on Friday for an explanation of the Beslan events. He repeated his call on Tuesday, saying ''we need to know what happened.'' But British Prime Minister Tony Blair called on the world to show solidarity with Russia. ''To kill and maim innocent children in this way is something I think that has taken terrorism to a different, even more depraved level,'' he said.
09-07-04 1423 EDT
Copyright 2004 Reuters Limited.
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Jeremy
J's Guy
Joined: 03 Oct 2002
Posts: 7823
Location: Aberdeen, Scotland
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| Tue Sep 07, 2004 2:40 pm |
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What is supposed to have happened is that a bomb went off accidently, and blew out a hole in the wall. Some of the school children started to escape through this. The terrorists then shot at them, the waiting parents broke through the barricade round the school, and ran to their children and were also shot at. Then the soldiers returned fire. During this time a bomb was triggered, which caused the gym roof to collapse.
Please do not misunderstand me. What I am about to say is NOT condoning the attacks. The Russians have done far worse the the Chechnians. About 80 000 are thought to have been killed, with 6000 Russians deaths since the war a number of years ago. Can you imagine being about 5-6 when your country was invaded and then throughout your life dealing with people being kidnapped, raped, murdered, stuff being stolen from you and brutal house searches? I'm not saying that the terrorists were right, but who can say what people would do in that kind of situation?
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Pah-Wraith
Sheikh
Joined: 30 Nov 2001
Posts: 6012
Location: Londonistan.
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| Tue Sep 07, 2004 2:44 pm |
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| Quote: | | Please do not misunderstand me. What I am about to say is NOT condoning the attacks. The Russians have done far worse the the Chechnians. About 80 000 are thought to have been killed, with 6000 Russians deaths since the war a number of years ago. Can you imagine being about 5-6 when your country was invaded and then throughout your life dealing with people being kidnapped, raped, murdered, stuff being stolen from you and brutal house searches? I'm not saying that the terrorists were right, but who can say what people would do in that kind of situation? |
I completely agree with Jeremy on that, and like he says- It DOES NOT mean I condone the Attacks.
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Founder
Dominion Leader
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 12755
Location: Gamma Quadrant
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| Tue Sep 07, 2004 3:13 pm |
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I agree with Jeremy and Pah-Wraith. I don't think children should die at all but the Russians treat the Chechnians like utter s&^t. They are fighting back because peace talks wont work. This reminds me of Isreal and Palestine.
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Theresa
Lux Mihi Deus
Joined: 17 Jun 2001
Posts: 27256
Location: United States of America
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| Tue Sep 07, 2004 3:36 pm |
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| Quote: | Television Shows Terrorists' Footage
Killers Used Video Cameras Inside School Where Massacre Occurred
Raw Video in Russian
Broadband Video
MOSCOW (Sept 7.) - Russia's NTV television showed graphic footage shot by the militants who took more than a thousand hostages in a school in Beslan in the south of the country last week.
The pictures showed militants including a masked and heavily armed man and a woman in Arab-style black headdress, as well as hundreds of hostages sitting in the gymnasium which later became a battleground. At least 335 people, around a half of them children, were killed.
AFP/Getty
Image from Russian television shows hostages in the gymnasium.
Blood was smeared on the floor. Bombs hung from a basketball hoop and from a wire suspended across the room. Another lay on the floor in plastic container.
Related Story
� Russians Stage Rally
One militant squatted, apparently working on a bomb with tape and wire clippers. The few spaces left by the hostages, including women fanning themselves in the heat and children with their hands on their heads, were strewn with wires and what appeared to be bomb-making equipment.
Talk About It
� Chat
� Messages
One militant stood with his foot on a book which the commentary said contained a trip-switch to activate a bomb. Elsewhere a rocket-propelled grenade lay unattended.
The video lasted around a minute and ended with the sound of one of the hostage-takers murmuring into his mobile phone. He was not speaking Russian.
09/07/04 14:46 ET
Copyright 2004 Reuters Limited.
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Tue Sep 07, 2004 5:34 pm |
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You know what? The media's covered the Hurricane too much and this too little--even FOX News hardly covered this. I mean, come on, the Hurricane is important, but it doesn't need THAT much attention and this deserves more coverage!
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"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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