Posted on 09/03/2004 10:04:07 AM PDT by ezfindit
Russians Storm School; 150 May Be Dead By MIKE ECKEL, Associated Press Writer
BESLAN, Russia - Commandos stormed a school Friday in southern Russia and battled separatist rebels holding 1,200 hostages, as crying children, some naked and covered in blood, fled through explosions and gunfire. An official said the death toll could be significantly higher than 150.
Three of the separatist rebels were reportedly still blockaded in a school basement, trading fire with security forces. A Federal Security Service official said militants were still holding hostages — children among them.
Hours after much of the school was secured late Friday afternoon, a large explosion erupted from the school toward nightfall, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.
Ten militants were killed in the violence, including nine Arabs, an aide to President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites) said, according to the Interfax news agency. The Arab presence among the attackers would support Putin's contention that al-Qaida terrorists were involved in the Chechen conflict, where Muslim fighters have been fighting Russian forces in a brutal a war of independence for most of the past decade.
The chaotic climax to the hostage standoff began when explosions collapsed part of the school roof and gunfire erupted from inside the building where the militants, some with explosives strapped to their bodies, stormed the school Wednesday moring.
The militants — demanding independence for nearby Chechnya — kept the hostages, mostly women and children, in the 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, the escaped hostage told APTN.
After the hostage-takers fled, more than 100 bodies were found in the gymnasium, some apparently killed when part of the school's roof collapsed in the explosion that prompted the Russian security forces to move in.
A Putin aide said the total death toll could be singificantly more than 150 people. An estimated 520 people were wounded, health officials said. The regional health minister earlier reported that at least 218 children were wounded.
Aslanbek Aslakhanov, Putin's top aide on Chechnya, said security forces did not plan to storm the building, but were prompted to move when the hostage-takers set off explosions early Friday afternoon. Witnesses said the militants opened fire on fleeing hostages and then began to escape themselves.
Gunfire rang out for hours as security forces chased hostage-takers, who split into small groups as they fled. Interfax and the ITAR-Tass news agency reported the three militants holed up in the basement may include the head of the group. Another group took refuge in a nearby house where tanks moved in.
Huge columns of smoke rose from the school. Windows were shattered, part of roof was gone and another part was charred. Commandos, residents and journalists scurried around the building and soldiers climbed inside through a lower floor window, all the glass missing.
People ran through the streets, and the wounded were carried off on stretchers. An Associated Press reporter saw ambulances speeding by, the windows streaked with blood. Four armed men in civilian clothes ran by, shouting, "A militant ran this way."
Soldiers and men in civilian clothes carried children — some naked, some clad only in underpants, some covered in blood — to a temporary hospital set up behind an armored personnel carrier. One child had a bandage on her head, others had bandaged limbs. Some women, newly freed from the school, fainted.
The children drank eagerly from bottles of water given to them once they reached safety. Many of the children were naked or 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."
A cameraman for the British network ITN reported seeing around 100 bodies in the gym. The correspondent for Russia's Interfax news agency reported that there were dozens of bodies in the school, including about 100 in the gym, and that some were killed when the building's roof collapsed from an explosion before the main assault began.
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. ...
Militants opened fire on fleeing hostages and security forces returned fire. Once the hostage-takers sought to escape, Russian officials apparently made the decision to storm the building.
The militants had reportedly threatened to blow up the building if authorities tried to storm it, but all indications suggested the explosions began before the assault. Russian officials repeatedly said they were not planning to invade and had earlier won the release of 26 hostages through negotiations. Negotiators said the hostage-takers had repeatedly refused offers of food and water througout the standoff.
"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."
Think again.
PS enjoy your stay.
Nonetheless, it is the most satisfying course of action.
And the destruction of Chechnya and its people will be a reaction to Chechen atrocities in Russia.
Not to worry -- alberuni will likely be "taken care of" during Russia's overwhelmingly brutal (and entirely justified) military response.
There are simply no "roots" for terrorism.
If they kill, you MUST kill them. Every single one of them that wants to kill.
The relativized language reflects the liberal deconstructionist mindset. Can't categorize anything with any degree of certainty for fear that might offend some special interest group. I guess the special interest group here is all the Jihadists of the world They're just misunderstood you know.
However, getting to observe this kinda first hand I can tell you when ever the IDF hunts them down and wacks one the rest scatter like bugs under the rocks and tend to stay there until some politician makes peace overtures. Then they come out and kill someone.
At the begining of the Oslo war I could hear the machine gun fire as I went to sleep almost every night. Even had a helocoptor firing missiles into the next valley while hovering over my house. Now that is a rough way to wake up.
Since Sharon began taking it to them I have no heard a bomb or a gun in MONTHS.
That is reality. Dead terrorists kill no one. If the Arabs keep it up, one day the Jews are going to feel backed into the corner. These are some pacifistic but tough people. Judah was not named a lion for nothing. If an Islamic country fires a Missile at Israel, they will cease to exist.
Isaiah 17, read it. Short chapter, very topical.
I agree with that. My argument is with the folks hereabout who think it's a good idea to kill everybody, regardless of whether they want to kill.
There are simply no "roots" for terrorism.
I disagree with that. The roots of the Chechen terrorist problem are quite relevant, because they address directly the bloodthirsty suggestions so beloved of some of our FR bretheren.
Russian/Chechen violence has a very long history. Russian atrocities have not caused the Chechens to stop their violent acts. It would appear that Russian atrocities have only made Chechens more willing to commit further atrocities. Like has begotten like. Does this excuse Chechen terrorism? Not in the least -- those who commit it, and those who directly support it, should be hunted down and killed like rabid dogs.
The question is simply this: what is the best way to stop terrorism? Is the commission of atrocities against civilians (as many on this thread are suggesting) more likely to stop it, or to encourage it? The lesson of Chechnya is that long-term brutality has resulted in a fertile environment for the recruitment of terrorists.
Thus we see that the moral considerations (e.g., that genocide is a bad thing) is matched by practical considerations (cruelty makes people want to kill you).
A War to the Death
(postscript to the Beslan Massacre)
The little children lay suffering, dying
Innocent rivers of blood
Crying out from the ground
Victims of a truly demonic ideology
And its heartless executioners
Islam was hatched in hell
And now stains the earth
This is a war to the death
Against an implacable foe
Never forget...
EV
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