Men Hold Moscow Audience Hostage [Reports of 1000 Hostages]

AP News ^ | OCTOBER 23, 14:03 ET

[McGruff]

MOSCOW (AP) — Armed men entered a Moscow theater Wednesday and took the audience hostage, the Federal Security Service said.

The theater was holding a performance of the musical Nord-Ost, one of the Russian capital's most popular productions.

The Interfax news agency said one of its reporters was inside the theater at the time of the raid. She told them in a telephone call that the men had fired into the air and were preventing the audience from leaving, the agency said.

Police units were on their way to the scene.

[Skooz]

It's all sniper talk right now. I-270 shut down.

[Delbert]

That was the worst video I have ever seen in my enire life. It was a Chechen slicinh off a Russian soldiers head and then kicking it around.

[laconic]

Yes, the Chechen terrorists cut the Russian soldier prisoner's head off and they peddled the video for cash. This is a common tactic of theirs.

[Skywalk]

Judging by most Americans, the war on terror is concluded. it will take a situation similar to Moscow, working out disastrously, to truly awaken us it seems.

Besides, we can't let trivial items like world war against evil get in the way of our shopping for the latest fragrance and shoes that match our belts.

[steveegg]

Slight correction;

It's a Religion of Peace Piece, didn't you know?

[Skooz]

Good point.

[dinasour]

That's right. The whole city. "Streets are emptying..."

And contrast this to the streets of DC during the "protest" this Saturday.

Sometimes I think that the Jihadi's think that we are weak, because we are weak.

[gcruse]

I don't consider their antics in the UN Security Council
concerning the Iraq resolution to be evidence of support for us.

Russia has been with us on the war on terrorism since 9/11.
Iraq is not part of that war.

[Smogger]

Translated from lenta.ru:

The Militia tries to enter negotiations with terrorists, those answer automatic turns.

Terrorists, grasping on Wednesday in the evening building ÄÊ of a factory " the Moscow bearing " where there was a musical "Northeast", have stopped to a pomegranate in militian îöåïåëåíèå. As informs Gazeta. Ru, as a result of explosion nobody has suffered.

Radio station " beacon " also informs, that on group of the operatives who are taking place at the central input(entrance) in a building, the automatic turn was given.

The Building is surrounded, all come to the House of culture, the militia has pushed aside not safe distance. As the correspondent of the Tape has informed. Ðó, taking place at the House of culture, on perimeter of a building snipers are placed. To the House of culture the engineering, including the big elevating cranes is strapped. Besides on the data of " the Echo of Moscow ", at a building cost(stand) two armored troop-carrier.

On some data, ñïåöíàçó it was possible to establish a ladder from a face wall of a building - on it(her) from make-up rooms deduce actors. Official acknowledgement(confirmation) of this information is not present. Meanwhile, as has declared on rights of anonymity source "Èíòåðôàêñà" in the Municipal Department of Internal Affairs, a building have left(abandoned) already about 300 hostages. Acknowledgement(confirmations) of the given information while are not present.

Now experts - peregovorshchiki try to enter negotiations with terrorists.

Poor translation, but you get the gist. I can't figure out if they are able to confirm 300 ppl have been released or what. I think it says they cannot confirm that.

[steveegg]

And if this wouldn't deep-six the fraud (4 pm and still no Journtinel update or even breakout of the fraud story from the "notebook" despite an AP story being posted long ago), then the gun pointed at a bus in the DC area will.

You want to put odds on the "promised to Belling" follow-up not happening?

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

have stopped to a pomegranate

I feel guilty for it, but I laughed at this line. No idea what it means.

[Naspino]

I had heard that northwest China was a haven for Islamic terrorism?

[BrooklynGOP]

More breaking news... The news of 300 hostages released is false. Terrorists released only 150 hostages - children, women, foreigners, citizens of Georgia and muslims. Russian police promised a press conference every 30-40 minutes.

[livius]

Algerian Muslim terrorists also used women, because they were less likely to be detected.

[JennysCool]

have stopped to a pomegranate

Thank you for a grim laugh in the midst of the crisis.

[browardchad]

If they were trying to avoid world war, they would attack us only -- isolate us, watch Europe and Asia pressure us to back down.

Actually, I think it's the opposite. They see the reluctance of Russia to pass the UN resolution as weakness, and believe they can press the advantage. Russia has also failed to make the case that Chechnya terrorists are the same as Al Quaida terrorists.

We are certainly not invulnerable, and yet we haven't had a major incident here since 9/11, since they know we will respond -- although probably not powerfully enough. Their main source of income might also dry up if they attacked us here -- and I'm not talking about foreign aid.

[Dog]

Off Topic for a second....

CNN Breaking news...

Sniper update.......Moose will be giving a statement within the hour....no questions will be allowed...

[tort_feasor]

Fox News is all sniper all the time. I guess a 1000 hostage held by a radical Islamic Terrorist group doesn't measure up to the eloquent Chief Moose.

[swarthyguy]

>>Russia has also failed to make the case that Chechnya terrorists are the same as Al Quaida terrorists.


They've made the case. We, the USA, have ignored it for over 6 years. Even now, we refuse to admit it or the Saudi funding and operation of the terror against the Russians. It's us, unfortunately.

Russia wanted a campaign against the Taliban a couple of years ago, maybe 1999. We're the ones who demurred.