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| Caucasus | |
| Anecdotes on the Breslan seige | |
| 2004-09-04 | |
| Pulled together from this article in the Age ... On Friday, commandos stormed the building and battled militants as crying children, some naked and covered with blood, managed to flee through explosions and gunfire. They had endured more than two days during which the hostage takers herded them into the school gym, denied them food and water and threatened to kill them. Other children lay dead on stretchers lined up outside. During a hospital visit, a sombre Putin saw several of the victims, stopping to stroke the head of one injured child. Russian authorities said the bloody end to the standoff came after explosions apparently set off by the militants - possibly by accident - as emergency workers were entering the school to collect the bodies of slain hostages. As hostages took their chance to flee, the militants opened fire on them, and security forces - along with town residents who had brought their own weapons - opened covering fire to help the hostages escape. Commandos stormed into the building and secured it, then chased fleeing militants in the town, with shooting lasting for 10 hours. An explosives expert told NTV television that the hostage takers, themselves strapped with explosives, hung bombs from basketball hoops in the gym and set other explosive devices in the building. Bomb experts are examining the building. The Federal Security Service chief in North Ossetia, Valery Andreyev, said that 10 militants killed in gunfights with security forces were from Arab countries, and Putin's adviser on Chechnya, Aslanbek Aslakhanov, said nine were "Arab mercenaries."
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| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #4 Good idea ex-lib, a new school would be a nice touch. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-09-04 12:36:52 PM |
| #3 Last post was from me, ex-lib, although I'm sure cingold would agree with me 100+ %. (On second thought, I guess I oughta ask before I make such a claim--you know how those blood-sucking attorneys can be . . . ) |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2004-09-04 11:59:56 AM |
| #2 May favorite excerpt: "As hostages took their chance to flee, the militants opened fire on them, and security forces - along with town residents who had brought their own weapons - opened covering fire to help the hostages escape." (I don't think the LLL "anti-guns no-matter-what Michael Moore types" would get much of an audience over there.) I hope there is an outpouring of support from here (and hopefully around the world), to rebuild the school. It would be a wonderful gesture from America, and in that part of the world, building a terrific and beautiful and inspiring modern school ( 3 links) could be built for less than half the cost of one here. It would be a thoughtful gift from America. If two in about every ten people in the US gave $1, it would be way more than enough to get the job done. Just a thought. (Of course, adequate security would be a BIG issue. Another thing I really hate about Isamofacists--they don't want to build a good. productive life, and they don't want anyone else to either.) |
| Posted by: cingold 2004-09-04 11:50:18 AM |
| #1 Friggen Bastards,What you have to say about this,Gentle.ROPMA! What about you,Antiwar,these were not"Zionists" that were slaughtered,They were Russian children(probably Russian Orthodox Christians).Don't you think that everyone of these bastards and everyone associated with them should be huntted down and Drawn and Quartered? |
| Posted by: Raptor 2004-09-04 8:50:03 AM |