Gunmen take 200+ student hostages

[Monkey Lib Front 10]

O SHIT, ITV Reporter and his camera man managed to take cover in the Gym because of the gunfight's, the camera man says that there are to his guess around 100 dead in the gym where the roof collapsed, remember the Cameraman is guessing, he was thrown out by Russian troops.

This ain't good.

[Gordy 0]

O SHIT, ITV Reporter and his camera man managed to take cover in the Gym because of the gunfight's, the camera man says that there are to his guess around 100 dead in the gym where the roof collapsed, remember the Reprorter is guessing.

This ain't good.

150.

Just kids.

[bn880 5]

Yeah, usually people underestimate numbers of people over 50, so if he saw ~100 that looked dead, there may have been 200.

[Monkey Lib Front 10]

O SHIT, ITV Reporter and his camera man managed to take cover in the Gym because of the gunfight's, the camera man says that there are to his guess around 100 dead in the gym where the roof collapsed, remember the Reprorter is guessing.

This ain't good.

150.

Just kids.

Well the ITN guy is underfire at the moment, bullets are whizing past him, the Cameraman Sasha only had around 2 seconds in there but he beleieved around 100 dead, not sure on the 150, who said that?

[theavonlady 2]

O SHIT, ITV Reporter and his camera man managed to take cover in the Gym because of the gunfight's, the camera man says that there are to his guess around 100 dead in the gym where the roof collapsed, remember the Reprorter is guessing.

This ain't good.

150.

Just kids.

That's what I expected.

[Monkey Lib Front 10]

News Cameraman has been hit and wounded no news on what agency yet.

[quicksand 0]

A CNN camerman is reporting to have seen hundreads of dead bodies inside the school and there is on going fighting in and near the school

By what it's geting reported at this time it looks like the Russian forces didn`t have any choice but to storm the building since a group of hostages managed to escape and came under fire from the chechens.If this was the situation a tragedy was indeed unavoidable.

[Monkey Lib Front 10]

Chechens Fired on fleeing children and persued them outside to kill them, the Rusians fired back and Thus the storming of the Building began. This is the Official Line at the moment.

[Gordy 0]

I just heard:

"There is one soul alive for every three dead in the gym" anonimous doc.

[Monkey Lib Front 10]

That Julian is one brave bastard.

[Apollo 0]

Quote[/b] ]Sure they're not terrorists, Apollo. If you were taken hostage i'd look at what you'd be saying about them.

There were bastards among Russian soldiers in Chechnya but taking kids as hostages is insanity.

I was just talking symantics ,not justifying their deeds.

quaote by Monkey Lib Front:

Quote[/b] ]Seems to me you just have an underlying hate of Russia and anything they do.

Where do you think you have the right to make that interpretation of me?  

It's not that because i find Russia's involvement in Chechnya wrong that i hate Russians in general ,in fact i got a Russian immigrant here called Igor that i consider a good friend.I find putin a reasonable leader ,deffinatly better than the Oliarchy that flourished under Jeltsin ,but his Chechnya affair was a move to get him ellected and now has run thurally out of hand ,he shoulda kept the situation with the Defeat Jeltsin had.

I got nothing against Russians and i find Putin a reasonable leader to Russia standards.But the Chechens have fought for independance of Russia in many century's and after Jeltsin campaign tchechnia had a democraticly ellected goverment ellected by the majority of it's people ,IN my oppinion that makes their right for independance more than justified.

I wonder how much you really know about that conflict.Chechnia'n society has always been one of clans in a very decentralized country where concensus was used to make agreements and decission between multiple layers of society's and clans ,the Highly centralized and authoritarian nature of russian goverment never worked well with this social structure.

[Foxtrot87 0]

It's good that you don't support terrorists and that you don't hate Russia but your posts border with that and i'm not the only person who has noticed it. This thread is about kids taken as hostages and then you write here that those hostage-takers aren't actually terrorists. Even if you mean symantics it's not the right time to discuss the right name for those terrorists (i'll keep calling them so anyway).

[Bordoy 0]

Of course they are terrorists, if they are trying to gain independance they would fight Russian troops in Chechnya. By shooting children in their back who are running away is terrorism.

[Apollo 0]

Quote[/b] ]It's good that you don't support terrorists and that you don't hate Russia but your posts border with that and i'm not the only person who has noticed it. This thread is about kids taken as hostages and then you write here that those hostage-takers aren't actually terrorists. Even if you mean symantics it's not the right time to discuss the right name for those terrorists (i'll keep calling them so anyway).

I didn't hear Russians yelling "atrocity" when kids died in chechnia ,and newsflash kids die every day all over the world due to conflict ,hunger and what not.

This situation is one of action and consequence ,It's Russia's bloody campaign that spawned this grim actions on it's civilians ,im not calling them nice but it's a consequence of russia's actions.If Russia had left Chechnia alone after the defeat of Jeltsin ,all of this would never have happened ,PERIOD!

But then Putin knew that he could stirr the nationalist feeling's of many Russians by declaring war on a minor country that hummiliated russia some years before it.

And the important thing to remember here is that THIS WILL CONTINUE ,as long as Chechens don't get what they want ,you can whine as much as you want about the terrorist attacks but as long as Chechnia isn't granted independance by mr Putin (wich would be a loss of face for him ,wch he can't face) russian civilians will die!

These terrorist attacks are mostly the work of Shamil Basajev and his clan ,not the Chechen insurgents in total.

The Chechens have tried to gain independance by conventional warfare.The first war they won ,and after that they establisished a stable democratic country.Then a second campaign ordered by Putin rolled over the country with more men and material and the use of extensive bombardment on city's with many civilians in it and mass pillaging ,murdering ,raping etc. More Chechen civilians died in that campaign that there will ever die by Chechen terrorists.

That conventional war was lost by the Chechens ,some Chechens fought on as insurgents and guerilla's but eventually the Russians keep reinforcing and won't back down for these insurgents ,some chechens made the conclusion that they need terrorism to either reach their goal or simply take revenge ,while others keep on fighting as guerilla's in conventional ways.

profile: Shamil Basayev

Not all chechen rebels are terrorists ,Maskadov for ex. is a leader of Chechen guerilla troops.In fact Basayev is one of the only muslim Chechen clan leaders!Maskhadov as supreme leader of the rebels often tried to get Wahabists (fanatic religion originating from Saudi Arabia ,often the religion of international terrorists) out of his faction.

profile: Aslan Maskhadov

[Akira 0]

Quote[/b] ]Bloody climax to school siege

Commandos hunt down hostage-takers

Friday, September 3, 2004 Posted: 9:31 AM EDT (1331 GMT)

BESLAN, Russia (CNN) -- Russian troops attempted to end the terrifying hostage-taking of a school in southern Russia, but fighting persisted on the school grounds as captives raced from the building under siege.

Hostage-takers and their captives fled in a scene of chaos amid explosions and gunfire as commandos stormed the building on Friday.

Russian officials confirmed media reports that dead bodies had been found at the scene, Itar-Tass news agency said.

Earlier, British ITV television said its cameraman saw up to 100 bodies in the remains of the school gym, where most hostages had been held.

Interfax news agency said dozens of people had been killed in a roof collapse at the school and an emergency services worker was killed.

Itar-Tass said more than 400 hostages and local residents had been injured and had been taken to hospitals.

Russian special forces troops took action Friday after the hostage-takers opened fire as the troops attempted to remove the bodies of those killed when the siege began two days ago.

Fighting continued on the school grounds. An Interior Ministry official said that troops have seized a gym where hostages were held, but believe there may be militants in other buildings holding hostages.

Russian commandos are in hot pursuit of the hostage-takers. There was also a report of two women terrorists dressed in white, trying to flee and blend into the population.

Another media report said 13 militants had managed to escape.

ITAR-Tass said soldiers blew a hole in the building to help hostages escape.

Some hostage-takers were still holed up in the building but special forces were not able to go in after them because the area was mined, the news agency said.

One report said five of the hostage-takers were killed in the standoff at the school in North Ossetia, near Chechnya, where rebels have been fighting Russia and demanding independence for that small republic.

There were reports of gunfire in the building and structures ablaze near the school. Huge explosions could be heard and plumes of smoke seen near the school. Small arms fire crackled.

There was another report that troops surrounded a residence where several militants were thought to have taken refuge.

The explosions could have resulted from mines and booby-traps planted near the school by militants, experts say.

Interfax quoted a defense official saying that "the terrorists planted a lot of mines and booby-traps filled with metal bolts in the gym" where hostages were held.

Casualty figures trickled over the news wires, but could not be confirmed. However, there were images of dead, as well as wounded people, and scores of survivors running from the school.

Another said 10 dead were taken from the school. One local official said "most" of the hostages had survived.

The breakthrough in the hostage-taking came after dozens of captives escaped Friday amid sporadic explosions and small-arms fire that lasted for more than an hour. Russian helicopters circled overhead but were never seen to open fire.

Scenes of the chaotic, chilling ending of the hostage-taking unfolded on television.

Half-naked children dashed out of the school in every direction. Some were carried and helped by parents and adults. Many were bleeding. Others screamed. Many received medical treatment and food and water outside.

Paramedics pulled children out in stretchers and put into cars and ambulances. Some were bandaged and badly injured and others were just simply distraught and relieved to be free. Anxious adults milled around an area near the school where Russian soldiers were stationed.

The standoff, which began with the armed attackers raiding the school on the first day of classes Wednesday, has lasted for well over 40 hours. Sporadic small arms fire and explosions have occurred since Thursday, continuing into Friday afternoon.

Russia's Interfax news agency reported portions of the building's roof had collapsed, and another reporter said he saw two soldiers in black fatigues standing on the roof, ostensibly the part still intact.

The hostage-takers had been holding more than 350 children, parents and teachers, although relatives said the number was much higher -- at about 1,000.

During the ordeal, the terrorists did not allow water and food into the building.

One unidentified woman freed on Thursday told Izvestia newspaper that during the night children occasionally began to cry.

"Then the fighters would fire in the air to restore quiet. In the morning they told us they would not give us anything more to drink because the authorities were not ready to negotiate.

"When children went to the toilet, some tried to drink from the tap. The fighters stopped them straight away."

The current hostage standoff follows a bloody week in Russia, in which a female suicide bomber Tuesday killed nine people outside a Moscow subway station and two airliners were downed by two suspected Chechen female suicide bombers on August 24, killing all 89 people aboard the planes.

Russian officials have said the new wave of attacks is an attempt at revenge for last weekend's elections in Chechnya in which a Kremlin-backed candidate won the presidency.

The crisis is reminiscent of the October 2002 siege of a Moscow theater, when Chechen rebels threatened to kill some 700 hostages and demanded an end to the war in Chechnya.

Many of those attackers were women, with explosives belts strapped to their body, while the men were armed with pistols and rifles. Two massive bombs also had been placed in the theater.

That standoff ended when Russian forces piped poison gas into the theater to knock out everyone inside, but more than 120 hostages and 41 attackers were killed, most of them from the gas.

Source

[gandalf the white 0]

That Julian is one brave bastard.

yeah, you can just hear the guy allmost panic .

under fire and still telling guy's you don't even know what's going on... wow!

also that russian LMG fire was followed by some guy making "noises" , injured?

also: one of the guy's that was taken outside was shouted "terrorist!" at, meaning the russians ARE making progress.

[Winters 1]

Dammit all the talk here on the news is about Hurricane Frances (which is still 36hrs. away) not a single station is talking about whats going in Beslan right now

[Donnervogel 0]

Dammit all the talk here on the news is about Hurricane Frances (which is still 36hrs. away) not a single station is talking about whats going in Beslan right now

don't you have CNN breaking news? (for about 6+ hours now)

[Albert Schweitzer 10]

That Julian is one brave bastard.

yeah, you can just hear the guy allmost panic   .

under fire and still telling guy's you don't even know what's going on...  wow!

also that russian LMG fire was followed by some guy making "noises" , injured?

also:  one of the guy's that was taken outside was shouted "terrorist!" at, meaning the russians ARE making progress.

what how when.. is that anywhere online?

[Winters 1]

All the news stations here in florida are talking about the hurricane.

[Gordy 0]

All the news stations here in florida are talking about the hurricane.

And so they should cause it's coming. Stay low and safe.

[DarkLight 0]

FOX "rebels"

Slow down. That's what Russia's Interfax called them in some of their news items.

edit: but, yes, I agree with you. They're all idiots.

This world's being controlled by idiots...

[Balschoiw 0]

Russian security forces have obviously blown a hole into a wall...that´s when the rubbel started...people began to flee and were shot upon...the terrorists detonated at least one explosive device...or it was triggered by the wall explosion. The ceiling collapsed, hundreds of people are dead. Terrorists managed to get away from building and went into another one...this one is currently under attack by a MBT and infantry...so much for now.

Wasted scenario.

[walker 0]

Hi all

It apears the sequense of events was as folows:

In an agreed cease fire Russian emergency workers were removing some of the 30 bodies from the original assault by the terrorists, mostly these dead were civilians. They had got to the second body.

For some as yet unclear reason a woman suicide bomber (one of the black widows) set off her suicide belt. Most of the children around this 'woman' were the youngest among the hostages in the 5 to 7 year old range. This was witnessed by an escaping girl hostage who reported it to an ITV news crew before she was rushed to hospital.

Children ran away in Panic.

Terrorists started machine-gunning the 30 or so children who were running away killing some (pictures of there covered bodies were on the street their bare little bloodied feet showing underneath the sheets) and also shooting at the Russian emergency workers collecting the bodies.

Russian forces returned fire and the Russians started their emergency response plan.

At the same time the terrorists set off explosives in the roof and ceiling of the gym. This brought down the roof and started a fire.

As the terrorists had booby trapped the whole school with mines and trip wires Russian forces used breaching charges to blow gaps in the walls of the school alowing a significant number of hostages to escape and allowing them selves to enter the building.

It appears that at least 100 hostages were killed in the gym.

Very sadly with tears in my eyes Walker

[Nemesis6 0]

Horrible.... just horrible!

One thing - I never got how those people in the gym died... How did that happen? Suicide-bomb, shot, how?