Inside School Number One: the full horror of Russia's 9/11
 

05 September 2004

The death toll in the worst terror outrage since 11 September rose well above 300 yesterday as President Vladimir Putin called the Russian school siege part of "a full-scale war" on the nation by international terrorists, and made a rare admission of weakness.

Mr Putin made a national TV address as hundreds of distraught people in the Caucasus town of Beslan pleaded with the authorities for information to help them find their loved ones, more than 24 hours after a three-day siege at Beslan's School Number One ended in bloodshed.

Inside the school yesterday, workers completed the grim job yesterday of clearing corpses from the gym where hundreds of children had been held for three days without food or water, surrounded by explosives.

Calling the siege a "grim reminder of the nature of the terrorists we face", US President George Bush told an election rally in Ohio: "We saw the horror of terror in Russia, and I can just imagine the heartfelt anguish of the mums and dads of those Russian kids."

The official number of people killed, according to the regional emergency situations minister, Boris Dzgoyev, was 323, including 156 children. Medical sources said more than 542 people, including 336 children, were in hospital after the crisis ended in explosions and gunfire, but officials have given contradictory accounts throughout. Some estimates put the death toll at around 360.

There was equal confusion over the number and identity of the hostage-takers. Mr Dzgoyev said that 35 men and women with explosives and weapons had been "eliminated" after the 10-hour battle, which erupted shortly after 1pm local time on Friday. His statement was in sharp contrast to claims by a senior prosecutor, who said there were only 26 terrorists, and all were killed. Earlier claims that three had been captured, and that three or four others had escaped, appeared to have been forgotten.

Who the hostage-takers were, and what they wanted, were similarly unclear. Officials were quick to link the attack to Russia's bloody war in neighbouring Chechnya, as well as to international terror groups, amid reports that at least nine Arabs were among the hostage-takers.

The rest of the article is here: http://news.independent.co.uk/europe...p?story=558377

This is truly horrific.

Unlike the United States, Russia is well known for its ruthlessness in pursuing terrorists and other enemies of the state. HAMAS tried kidnapping some Russians years ago in Beirut. A commando attack by the SPETSNAZ (Russian Special Forces) freed the Russians and left several terrorists with their throats cut. HAMAS quickly learned their lesson.

Warning to terrorists: when ya piss off the Russian Bear, he'll relentlessly pursue you and then eat you!

It seems that there are no longer lines that people like this won't cross. Too terrible :(

I had jury duty on Friday, and this was on tv all day - but no real details. As I was reading the details today, I felt sick. Anyone who could do that to a child deserves wrath beyond what any human could dish out! To do this to hundreds of children, along with their teachers & families, is simply incomprehensible.

I can't help but wonder if this could happen here, and even thinking about it scares me half to death!

I wish all countries would pursue terrorists like this.

This was a tragic and horrifying event. CNN is reporting 330 dead with over 200 still unaccounted for, as well as all those in the hospital. I can't see why it *couldn't* happen here... and that's the scariest part.

Dee

Let's hope they don't go overboard and do what they usually do, mass killing of innocent civilians.

Going after terrrorist should be done, but the innocents should not be targeted. Unfortunatley, history is not on the side of the innocents.

Guess what happens when terrorists hide among civilians?

At least the reaction in the Muslim world is one of horror and condemnation. I think that they are beginning wake up and see that most current terrorism is being committed by people in the name of Islam.

I saw a video of a mother searching for her young sons. She found their bodies together on one stretcher under a sheet.

She could only kneel quietly beside them, caressing their little faces, so overcome she was like a robot.

And one girl shot IN THE BACK 46 TIMES??????

These people are so ruthless, so inhuman, that they must be eliminated.

I for one, do hope that Russian bear is awakened.

So, it's ok to kidnapped, murder innocent civilians just in case they are terrorist? That is what is happening in Chechnya. In the end, civilians are the one getting hurt on both side and neither side don't give a damn about it.

Is it OK? No, but its not always that simple. All intelligence gathering agencies are imperfect, and sometimes decisions have to be made with imperfect information. The option of inaction can be the worst option of all. Its not easy to pass judgement on Russia unless you know everything that they know.

Read about what happen during the "winter operation" in Chechnya. It is not about imperfect inteligence, it is about sheer incomeptency and lack of discipline of the once glorious Russian military. It is also about violation of human rights which has nothing to do with terrorism. There are thousand of missing civilians who only crime was they are chechnyan and they are male.

Of course one should not do nothing, but if something mean mass killing, then I rather do nothing.

Please provide a link. I'd like to read about this.