While the authorities claim a school in the North Ossetian town of Beslan was seized by a group of 32 rebels, the survivors of the hostage drama and other witnesses insist that in actual fact the number of hostage-takers was higher. As many as 49 rebels, not 32, were killed during the storming, 3 were taken alive and arrested and at least 13 fled, a man who introduced himself as Vassily K. told the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily. Vassily described himself as a serviceman from a special purpose commando unit in the Southern Federal District who took part in the operation to free the hostages.
According to official reports, the school was seized by 32 militants. The only rebel arrested was Nur-Pashi Kulayev, Vladimir Ustinov, Russia's top prosecutor said earlier. Ustinov said he strongly doubted that any of the hostage-takers had managed to flee. However, hostages who survived the siege told the press that most of the terrorists wore civilian clothes and clearly hoped that they would be able to merge with the crowd and escape. It is quite likely that some of them succeeded. Former hostages told a Komsomolskaya Pravda correspondent in Beslan that at least four more rebels took part in the siege. Their identities were never established. "There were not 32 rebels, as official reports say, but much more," says Vassily K. The fighter asked not to reveal his real name, although he gave it to the daily. Vassily said he took part in the storming of School No.1 in Beslan on Sept. 3. "I counted 52 rebels, of which 49 were killed and 3 arrested. Apart from them, there were 13 other people, including a female suicide bomber. They managed to flee. Among those captured alive was not only Nur-Pasha Kulayev, as officially reported, but also Vladimir Khodov and a female bomber." |