Death toll believed to be 250
BESLAN, Russia – The grim toll left by a three-day hostage siege at a school in southern Russia continued to mount today: at least 250 dead, 531 remain hospitalized, including 283 children – 92 of them in “very grave” condition.
Sixty-two hours after the hostage drama began during a celebration marking the first day of the school year, the Russian government said resistance had ended. Bomb experts and rescuers looking for victims resumed their search of the building Saturday after a break overnight.
Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to the town early today and ordered the borders of North Ossetia, the republic where the school is located, closed while any hostage takers still on the loose are pursued.
“All Russia grieves with you,” Putin said during a meeting with local officials in Beslan in the North Ossetia region, carried on government television.
He said targeting children made the hostage crisis worse than other acts of terrorism: “Even alongside the most cruel attacks of the past, this terrorist act occupies a special place because it was aimed at children.”
Valery Andreyev, Russia’s Federal Security Service chief in the region, said 10 Arabs were among 27 militants who were killed. The ITAR-Tass news agency, citing unidentified security sources, reported the hostage-taking was the work of Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, who had al Qaeda backing.
The Interfax news agency quoted unidentified sources in the regional Health Ministry as saying some 250 people were killed. The figure could not be confirmed. Reporters said they had seen at least 100 bodies in the school gym.
Under a grove of trees outside the school, white sheets covered dead bodies, including those of children, on lines of stretchers. Grieving parents and loved ones knelt beside the dead, some of whom were awaiting identification. Nearby, anxious crowds gathered around lists of injured posted on the walls of the hospital buildings.
It was not clear where the tragic end to the siege would leave Putin’s tough policy on Chechnya, which has enjoyed broad domestic support despite the heavy toll rebel violence has taken in recent years. He has said the Russian fight in the Caucasus was part of the world’s larger war on terrorism.
On his visit to Beslan, Putin warned against letting the attack stir up tensions in the mult-ethnic North Caucasus region. “One of the goals of the terrorist was to sow ethnic enmity and blow up the North Caucasus,” Putin said. “Anyone who gives in to such a provocation will be viewed by us as abetting terrorism.”
On the campaign trail in Wisconsin, President Bush said the hostage siege was “another grim reminder” of the lengths to which terrorists will go. World governments joined Washington in condemning the militants.
“It is hard to express my revulsion at the inhumanity of terrorists prepared to put children and their families through such suffering,” British Prime Minister Tony Blair said.
The State Department issued a public announcement warning U.S. citizens living or traveling in Russia against going to Chechnya and the neighboring regions because of a heightened risk of terrorist attacks.
“American citizens in Russia should exercise caution and remain vigilant and aware of these heightened risks when planning use of or using any form of public transportation. American citizens should also avoid large public gatherings that lack enhanced security measures,” the announcement said.
The Arab presence among the attackers would support Putin’s contention that al Qaeda terrorists were deeply involved in the Chechen conflict, where Muslim fighters have been battling Russian forces in a brutal war of independence on and off for more than a decade. ITAR-Tass said Basayev received funding for the attack from alleged al Qaeda operative Abu Omar as-Saif.
Russian authorities said they stormed the building after the militants set off explosions and fired shots as emergency teams approached to collect the bodies of several men killed earlier. They said the hostage-takers had given them permission to take the corpses away. Witnesses quoted by Russian media said the militants opened fire on fleeing hostages and then began to escape themselves.
A police explosives expert told NTV television that the commandos stormed the building after bombs wired to basketball hoops exploded in the gymnasium, where many of the children were being held. A captive who escaped told NTV that a suicide bomber blew herself up in the gym.