TA-ATTACKS: Armed Men Storm Russian School; Children Hostage

In a unprovoked assault today in southern Russia, armed men siezed control of a secondary high school, taking hostages. It is still unclear the number of hostages taken but negotiators are on the scene. Russian news reports up to 1000 and as many as 1500 children and adults are being held. Several teachers have reportedly been killed by gunfire. The men threaten to blow the building up if police storm it.



UPDATE: Reports now state that kidnappers have submitted a video to authorities. The contents have not been released. Some children have managed to escape but around 400 teachers, children and parents remain captive. The reports are stating that there were initially several injuries during the taking of the school, and up to 7 parents killed since. Witnesses are reporting that the assailants are both male and female and wear black mask.

North Ossetian School Situation



Related News Links:
Sky.com


[edit on 3-9-2004 by Banshee]

UPDATE

News has just come in saying that at least 200 pupils and parents may have been taken hostage by the armed men. The men entered the building to take shelter from the gun fight which they were involved in with the police.

A unconfirmed report of a second school being taken hostage is also circulating.

An envoy in the region said a gun fight had broken out with police in the area.

The seizure comes amid heightened security following a suspected suicide bomb attack in Moscow on Tuesday night, and the bombing of two passenger planes last week.

Security officials are at the scene in Beslan trying to negotiate with hostage-takers.

Interfax news agency said at least 17 gunmen are involved.

news.bbc.co.uk...






[edit on 1-9-2004 by Gryffen]

news.com.au

"NEARLY 20 attackers bearing guns and wrapped in suicide-bomb belts men have seized a school in the Russian region of North Ossetia and are in a gun battle with police, officials and news reports said."

chechen rebels??
id would say so, hopefully this doesnt end like the theatre seige in 2001.

I agree, the problem is with them being rigged to blow at any point of time they choose, there isnt very much we can do except take a very large step back.

They have a lotta options at the moment, hopefully they will be able to keep themselves and everyone else involved calm and cool.

good luck to the negotiators.

UPDATE

From Bloomberg.com

Reports are coming in that there has been gunfire heard and at least one man has already been killed during the gunfight and the hostage taking.

Both men and woman stormed the school taking hostages and still no word from those terrorists inside about the welfare of the hostages.

They have claimed responsiblity for the downing of the two Airliners last week after suicide bombers set off explosives.

There has been some shooting since the gunmen took the school over, and at least one man was reported killed, CNN said. The hostage-taking follows a suicide bombing in Moscow yesterday that killed 10 people and the crashes of two airliners last week after suicide bombers, believed to be from Chechnya, set off explosives.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday the group claiming responsibility for the downing of the two airliners has links to the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

quote.bloomberg.com...

It is getting worse and worse over there, again innocent people are being caught up in such terror and attrocities as this.

I think this will get worse before it gets better...but fingers are crossed for those involved.









[edit on 1-9-2004 by Gryffen]

THREAT TO BLOW UP HOSTAGE SCHOOL

"HOSTAGE takers at a school in southern Russia have threatened to blow up the building if police storm it, the Interfax news agency quoted law enforcement authorities as saying.

The threat came after armed individuals took about 200 children and 40 parents and teachers hostage today at a school in the southern Russian republic of North Ossetia, near Chechnya. "

news.com.au

this is not good at all.

three, or is it four attacks in a week, this week will go down as one of the worst in recent history for russia, hopefully this seige ends safely for the students and their parents.


[edit on 1-9-2004 by ausconspiracies2]

The numbers are just gonna keep on getting higher and higher in this whole situation

Its now reported that upto 30 armed men and woman are inside holding hostages and several teachers have been shot dead making a total of 8 fatalities so far.

Russian news agencies said up to 30 suicide attackers carrying belts laden with explosives stormed the school.

The Interfax news agency said there had been a gun battle with police at the school with at least one person killed.

A regional government spokesman told the Itar-Tass agency several teachers had been shot dead.

www.sky.com...

I`m sure that the russian government forces won`t negotiate for too long with the terrorists. It`s not in their custom to do that. I only hope that the terrorists will decide to surrender themselves, but that`s just a dream.

Terrorism is the next world war. And it already started. You won`t see anymore large landings and mass attacks and war declarations. This is it. WWIII.

smh link has the figure of 400,

The ITAR-Tass news agency, citing regional emergency officials, said about 400 people including some 200 children were being held captive.

www.smh.com.au...
www.abc.net.au...
Sanc'.
edit:link

[edit on 1-9-2004 by sanctum]

Unfortunatly negotiation will never really solve anything now-a-days...you either have to use swift lethal force of take out everyone..best policy.

With so many hostages and diffrent varibles to what can happen in the situation i think they will just keep negotiating for a length of time until they gather the intel they need and then plan a sweep attack.

One other problem is the explosives!

What are they? What is the yeild? How much is there?

Lotta information to gather..not a lot of time to do it.

Right... I`m sure that this affair will end in a blood-bath. The terrorists perhaps already ended their life, if not physically, then mentally. Just like the Kamikaze pilots of Japan.

Let`s be honest, what are the chances for the russian forces to pull this crisis ok ? I say they are close to none.

Lets just not give up hope yet.

They may have outside help and get more experienced negotiators from the UN out or that.

come on...having seen how easily a situation like this can turn out or change so quickly...i prefere to look at the sidelines and make a little prayer for there safety.

doesnt hurt does it!

Also...and image of hope

a little girl running away after herself and a couple other children managed to flee there captures!



[edit on 1-9-2004 by Gryffen]

Surely it doesn`t, but other situations like this one proved to be very difficult to solve. As a matter of facts, I cannot remember a single situation when such problem was happily solved. So I cannot be too optimistic about this one.

Instead of hoping, people should start thinkin` on what are the solutions for the entire `plague`, not just this particular case. I`m sure that one way or the other the problem with the hostages in Russia will end, but I`m not a dreamer, and I cannot hope in a miracle. Because this is exactly what they need there, considering everything. A miracle.

I agree...you have too look at things nowadays with bleakness and gloom..sometimes it is all there is.

Everything in recent months and years has been about terror and destruction, death etc etc etc.

Put it this way...if this goes very sour....lets just say there will be a new name for massacre...the whole of russia and most of europe will be crying out for blood!

From Reuters.com

"MOSCOW (Reuters) - Armed attackers, who seized a school in southern Russia on Wednesday, are holding up to 400 hostages including 200 schoolchildren, an official spokeswoman said.
"There could be up to 400 children and teachers held hostage," Irina Terkina, a spokeswoman for President Vladimir Putin's envoy in southern Russia, said by telephone. RIA news agency said the gang, who had seized the school in the town of Beslan in North Ossetia near Chechnya, were refusing to negotiate with the authorities. "

havent heard much news of this here in australia other than on the net, our news broadcasts have only shown a quick report so far.

People have already talked about the important issues of this terrible situation. I on the other hand am going to bring up an unimportant one that caught my attention: 400 hostages are being held captive at the school, 200 of them are schoolchildren. Who the hell are the other 200? Is the Russian education system so great that they have a 1:1 ratio of teachers to kids?

Anyone care to clarify?

yeah i kinda wondered about that.

My guess is the teachers and parents and other janitorial staff in the school.

Me have a bad feeling tho...somehting is gonna happen and its gonna change things soon.

Stay tuned and updates coming soon

Usually the 1st of september marks the beginning of a new school year, or at least this is how it is here in my country. I`m thinkin` that there are 200 children, and the other 200 are teachers, parents coming to their children`s first day of school, you know, the works.

The number is perfectly explainable.

A t.v. report stated that the school was stormed by the terrorists at the conclusion of a
ceremony to celebrate the 1st day of a new school term. So there were probably parents
friends ect.
Sanc'.

UPDATE

50 children have thought to have escaped the hostage takers and terms have been demanded.

quote taken from skynews.com

The group is demanding the release of jailed rebels in the neighbouring Ingushetia region.The AFP news agency said 200 children and 40 adults had been taken.

"The hostage takers, who include men and women, are wearing martyrs' belts," said Ismael Chaov, a spokesman for the North Ossetian interior ministry told AFP.

more to come as soon as we hear.