Police Storm Hijacked Bus

A bus hijacking in a restive region of southern Russia ended Thursday when security agents stormed aboard, freed all 18 hostages unharmed and arrested the hijackers.

Authorities said the gunmen in the republic of Dagestan, who were thwarted in their demands for $1.5 million and a helicopter, probably intended to flee to neighboring Chechnya.

Alexander Korcheba, a duty officer at the Federal Security Service in Moscow, said the two children and 16 adults were freed and the terrorists “neutralized” in a storming that ended a 19-hour drama.

Two gunmen seized the bus Wednesday night in Makhachkala, 1,000 miles south of Moscow.

Authorities distracted the hijackers’ attention by landing a helicopter next to the bus moments before storming it.