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.

[Lucas1]

CNN has a reporter on the scene...broadcasting now live

Saying perhaps up to 1000 people held hostage

[SamAdams76]

700 hostages, this is huge, on the scale of Bali if things go wrong. Let's hope the Russian SWAT teams can do something.

[Dusty Rose]

Unlike the DC sniper, they are apparently letting the children be free.

[Lucas1]

Reporter is saying that he saw police entering the building...with dogs. Moscow theater director is saying perhaps up to 1000 people held hostage. Others are saying 500-700 - so some confusion on the numbers.

Alpha-team is on the scene...according to CNN.

[My Favorite Headache]

FOX talking sniper...again..nowhere near these stories that are breaking..talking about fake credit cards and sniper...

[kezekiel]

Unfortunately, Russia has been to willing to whore themselves for Iraqi business.

[monkeywrench]

Actually I think this girl on, now, worked at MSNBC at one time. I believe she was a clinton appologist.

[McGruff]

Your comment, France Surrenders? relates to what?

Do I have to include [/humor]. Lighten up!

BREAKING: UN Security Council Meeting on whether to condemn Isreal for this action [/sarcasm]

[laconic]

Yes, this is exactly out of the AlQaeda playbook. Take over a building, round up the hostages, get the press there and then blow up everything while on TV. The Chechens have been among AlQaeda's biggest supporters; scum "Dr." Zawahiri was there and it has been rumored that bin Laden is hiding out there. A thoroughly bad bunch.

[Dog]

Whoa......700 hostages.....wow!

[laconic]

I repeat; your comments aren't funny or appropriate in the slightest. There are upwards of 1000 people who may be butchered by this garbage and I find nothing funny about it nor will I "Lighten up".

[philetus]

According to Fox news, Bush is trying to force a vote of the security council. All 15 members are meeting tonight.
Could it be that the terrorists in the theater are saying, if Russia votes with America, they will kill everyone in the theater?

[SerpentDove]

No expert here, but what is the outcome going to be? I can only forsee mass homicide.

How can 20 people make some ransom demand on 700-1000 hostages?

It's not money. This seems in my UNEXPERT OPINION that mass homicide is in the cards. These people may well be spending their last moments alive on earth.

God be merciful to us.

[American Soldier]

This should help the idiot American liberals (as well as those in the rest of the Anglophone countries) that the Islamists want to kill/convert us REGARDLESS OF WHAT WE DO. War has been declared. They will fight until death or victory.

[PoisedWoman]

BBC reported that Chechens said they have bombs in the theatre. If they blow up that huge crowd, it will be like WTC all over again. The Euroweenies will have to sit up and take notice of this, whether or not the theatre is destroyed...the Muslims among them are potentially very dangerous.

knighthawk, what's the European press reporting? Are they mantioning the fact that Muslims in theatre were let go?

[contessa machiaveli]

has anyone seen "siege" with denzel washington? i suggest renting it. unfortunately, many of those horrors have come to pass.

[PoisedWoman]

Could it be that the terrorists in the theater are saying, if Russia votes with America, they will kill everyone in the theater?

Interesting thought. But the vote can be postponed until after the chechens surrender. The world is not going to be held hostage to these creeps, not in the long run anyway. .

[BrooklynGOP]

BREAKING NEWS Moscow's radio station "Echo" is reporting that they received a call from a man claiming to be Movladi Udugov (Chechen "rebel"'s official spokesman). He claims that this is an "operation" done by the people of Arbi Barayev (he's chechen warlord, however russians claimed they killed him over a year go). He went on to say that the theater was taken over by 40 "smertnikov" (basically kamikazes), also claimed that the theater was wired with bombs and will be blown up if russians try to storm it. Again, it's still not confirmed if the man was actually Udugov.

[RossA]

Male muslims are circumcised. In some countries, that identifies them. E.g, India. That gives the mobs an easy way to decide whom to kill.

I have no information as to the frequency of circumcision among ethnic Russians. I would guess it normal among the Orthodox and pre-1917. Anyone know?

[Nexus]

According to Fox news, Bush is trying to force a vote of the security council. All 15 members are meeting tonight.
Could it be that the terrorists in the theater are saying, if Russia votes with America, they will kill everyone in the theater?

Very insightful, and unfortunately very possible.