Unbelievable More terror from Muslim Chechen rebels, this time with CHILDREN targeted. Every single terrorist should be killed for this......the civilized world can not tolerate this kind of behaviour. DD
Attackers seize hostages at Russian school Some in assault near Chechnya wear suicide-bomb belts; 3 dead • Standoff Sept. 1: Armed attackers have seized a school in a Russian region bordering Chechnya and are holding scores of children and adults hostage. NBC's Keith Miller reports. Updated: 9:50 a.m. ET Sept. 1, 2004MOSCOW - Attackers wearing suicide-bomb belts seized a school in a Russian region bordering Chechnya on Wednesday and were holding at least 120 hostages, many of them children. The assault came a day after a suicide bomber killed 10 people in Moscow. At least three people were killed — including a child — during the takeover of the secondary school by an armed gang of up to 17 men and women, according to emergency workers. Earlier, Fatima Khabolova, a spokeswoman for the regional parliament, said that two people had died, including a father who had brought his child to the school and was shot when he tried to resist the raiders. An attacker also was killed and nine people were injured, she said. There was confusion over the number of hostages. Initial reports said that 400 students and teachers were being held in the school, but the Interfax news agency later quoted local police as saying the number was between 120 and 150. The hostage-takers, suspected to be Chechen rebels, were threatening to kill 50 children for every one of their number killed by security forces, the region’s interior minister said. “They have said that for every fighter wiped out they will kill 50 children and for every fighter wounded, 20,” Kazbek Dzantiyev told local journalists in Beslan in Russia’s North Ossetia region. ITAR-Tass reported that the attackers had released 15 children several hours after seizing the school, but Ruslan Ayamov, a spokesman for North Ossetia's Interior Ministry, denied that the hostage-takers had freed anyone, telling the Associated Press that 12 children and one adult managed to escape after hiding in the building's boiler room. Parents appeal to Putin Parents of the seized children recorded a videocassette appeal to President Vladimir Putin to fulfill the terrorists' demands, said Khabalova, the parliament spokeswoman. The text of the appeal was not immediately available. The seizure began after a ceremony marking the first day of the Russian school year, reports said, when it was likely that many parents had accompanied their children to class. The attackers warned they would blow up the school if police tried to storm it and forced children to stand at the windows, said Alexei Polyansky, a police spokesman for southern Russia. Both the school attack and the Moscow bombing appeared to be the work of Chechen rebels or their sympathizers, but there was no evidence of any direct link. The two strikes came just a week after two Russian planes carrying 90 people crashed almost simultaneously in what officials also say were terrorist bombings. “In essence, war has been declared on us, where the enemy is unseen and there is no front,” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said, according to the Interfax-Military News Agency. He spoke before the seizure. The latest violence also appears to be timed around Sunday’s presidential elections in Chechnya, a Kremlin-backed move aimed at undermining support for the insurgents by establishing a modicum of civil order in the war-shattered republic. The previous Chechen president, Akhmad Kadyrov, was killed along with more than 20 others in a bombing on May 9. Gunfire broke out after the raid and at least three teachers and two police officers were wounded, Polyansky said. More gunfire and several explosions were heard about three hours later, the Interfax news agency reported. He said most of the attackers were wearing suicide bomb belts. Gunmen demand talks The attackers demanded talks with regional officials and a well-known pediatrician, Leonid Roshal, who had aided hostages during the seizure of a Moscow theater in 2002, news reports said. The hostage-takers demanded the release of fighters detained over a series of attacks on police facilities in neighboring Ingushetia in June, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported, citing regional officials. The well-coordinated raids killed more than 90 people. ITAR-Tass, citing regional emergency officials, said about 400 people including some 200 children were being held captive. A regional police official, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said the hostages had been herded into the school gymnasium. There were 17 attackers, both male and female, Interfax said, citing Ismel Shaov, a regional spokesman for the Federal Security Service. In television footage from outside the school in Beslan, a town about 10 miles north of the regional capital of Vladikavkaz, hundreds of men in camouflage with heavy-caliber machine guns were seen taking up positions on the perimeter as other men in civilian dress with light automatic rifles paced nervously. Armored vehicles were parked nearby. Girl, woman seen fleeing At one point, a girl of about age 7 in a floral print dress and a red bow in her hair streaked around a corner apparently after fleeing from the school, followed by an older woman. Witnesses near the school said sporadic gunfire could be heard throughout the day. "Every gunshot I hear is like a shot into my heart," said a woman who identified herself as Vera and said her child was among the hostages. The attack was the latest in a string of violence that has tormented Russians and plagued Putin's government. Putin came to power in 2000 vowing to crush the Chechen rebels but has been largely unable to do so. Terrorism fears in Russia had risen markedly following the plane crashes and the suicide bombing outside a Moscow subway station on Tuesday night that killed 10 people and wounded more than 50. A militant Muslim web site published a statement claiming responsibility for the bombing on behalf of the “Islambouli Brigades,” a group that also claimed responsibility for the airliner crashes. The veracity of the statements could not immediately be confirmed. The statement said Tuesday’s bombing was a blow against Putin, “who slaughtered Muslims time and again.” Putin has refused to negotiate with rebels in predominantly Muslim Chechnya who have fought Russian forces for most of the past decade, saying they must be wiped out. TIMELINE Beyond Chechnya Actions outside of Chechnya linked to the conflict. June 14, 1995 Chechen gunmen take 2,000 hostages at a hospital in southern Russian town of Budyonnovsk, near Chechnya. After failed attempts at force, Russia negotiates the hostages' release in exchange for the gunmen's escape. More than 100 die. Jan. 9, 1996 Chechen militants seize 3,000 hostages at a hospital in southern Russian town of Kizlyar. Rebels release most, then head for Chechnya with about 100 hostages. Rebels are stopped in a village and attacked by Russian troops. At least 78 die in weeklong fight. Jan. 16, 1996 Six Turks and three Chechens hold 255 hostages on ferry in Black Sea, threatening to blow up ship if Russia doesn't halt battles in southern Russia. The rebels surrender after three days. March 9, 1996 Turkish sympathizer hijacks jetliner flying out of Cyprus to draw attention to situation in Chechnya. The sympathizer surrenders after plane lands in Munich, Germany. Sept. 4, 1999 Bomb destroys a building housing Russian military officers and families in Buinaksk in Russia's Dagestan region. Sixty-four die. Russian officials blame Chechen rebels, but never prove their involvement. Sept. 9, 1999 Explosion wrecks a nine-story apartment building in southeast Moscow, killing almost 100. Authorities suspect a Chechen bomb, although no evidence is ever provided to support the claim. Sept. 13, 1999 A bomb destroys an apartment building in southern Moscow, killing 70. Officials blame Chechens, but nobody is ever charged in the attack. Sept. 16, 1999 Bombs shear off the front of a nine-story apartment building in Volgodonsk, 500 miles south of Moscow. Nearly 20 are killed. Authorities again blame Chechens rebels, but nobody is charged. March 16, 2001 Three Chechens hijack a Russian airliner leaving Istanbul and divert it to Saudi Arabia. Saudi forces storm plane, killing one hijacker and two hostages. April 22, 2001 Some 20 gunmen hold about 120 people for 12 hours at a hotel in Istanbul, Turkey, to protest Russian actions in Chechnya. The rebels later surrender to police and release the hostages. May 4, 2002 Lone gunman holds 13 people hostage at a hotel in Istanbul to protest situation in Chechnya. The gunman surrenders after an hour. Oct. 24, 2002 Chechen rebels seize 800 people in a Moscow theater. After a three-day standoff, Russian authorities launch a rescue attempt in which all 41 attackers are killed along with 127 hostages who succumb to a knockout gas used to incapacitate the assailants. July 5, 2003 Double suicide bombing at a Moscow rock concert kills the female attackers and 15 other people. July 10, 2003 A Russian security agent dies in Moscow while trying to defuse a bomb a woman had tried to carry into a cafe on central Moscow’s main street. Aug. 1, 2003 50 people are killed in Mozdok, North Ossetia, when a truck bomb smashes through the gates of a hospital where Russian soldiers injured in Chechnya are treated. Sept. 16, 2003 Two suicide bombers drive a truck laden with explosives into a government security services building near Chechnya, killing three people and injuring 25. Dec. 5, 2003 Suicide bombing on commuter train in southern Russia kills 44 people. President Vladimir Putin condemns attack as bid to destabilize the country two days before parliamentary elections. Six people were killed in two blasts on the same railway line in September. Dec. 9, 2003 Female suicide bomber blows herself up outside Moscow’s National Hotel, across from the Kremlin and Red Square, killing five bystanders. Feb. 6, 2004 An explosion rips through a subway car in the Moscow metro during rush hour, killing 41 people. June 21- 22, 2004 Chechen rebels kill at least 92 people, mostly law-enforcement officers and officials, while setting fire to police and government buildings around Nazran, the main city of the neighboring republic of Ingushetia. Aug. 25, 2004 Chechen suicide bombers blamed for explosions that kill 90 people on board two Russian planes. Putin returns to Moscow for crisis Putin interrupted his working holiday in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Wednesday and returned to Moscow, after doing the same last week because of the plane crashes. Upon arrival at the Moscow airport, Putin held an immediate meeting with the heads of Russia’s Interior Ministry and Federal Security Service, the Interfax news agency said. The former spy-chief rose to power in 2000 on the strength of his tough approach on Chechnya and has always refused to negotiate with separatists. Previous hostage-taking involving Chechen rebels have all ended with huge loss of life. When Chechen rebels seized 700 hostages at a Moscow theater in 2002, 129 hostages and 41 guerrillas were killed when Russian troops stormed the building, using poisonous gas to incapacitate the attackers. In 1995, Chechen rebels took hundreds of hostages in a hospital in the southern Russian town of Budennovsk. More than 100 died during the assault and a botched Russian commando raid. Wednesday's school seizure came a day after a female suicide bomber blew herself up in central Moscow. Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov told reporters near the Rizhskaya subway stop in northern Moscow that the female bomber was walking toward the station but saw two police officers stationed there, turned around “and decided to destroy herself in a crowd of people.” The blast tore through a heavily trafficked area between the subway station and a nearby department store. Doctors worked through the night to save the lives of others who were severely wounded by the bomb that officials said was packed with bolts to maximize casualties. Several female suicide bombers allegedly connected with the rebels have caused carnage in Moscow and other Russian cities in a series of attacks in recent years. Suicide bombers known as ‘black widows’ Many of the women bombers are believed to be so-called “black widows,” who have lost husbands or male relatives in the fighting that has gripped Chechnya for most of the past decade. Investigators of the plane crashes are seeking information about two Chechen women believed to have been aboard — one on each plane. Police spokesman Valery Gribakin said hours after the blast that police patrols were being increased and document checks stepped up, and that security at subway and train stations and airports was being boosted. However, no increase of uniformed officers was immediately apparent at subway stations during the morning rush on Wednesday. Fears that the Chechen rebels aimed to export their fight outside the small republic’s borders rose in June after insurgents launched a coordinated series of attacks on police facilities in neighboring Ingushetia, in which more than 90 people were killed. In a videotape released several days after the attack, a man appearing to be warlord Shamil Basayev claimed responsibility for the assaults and said his fighters had seized huge quantities of arms from police arsenals. In 1995, Chechen rebels led by Basayev seized a hospital in the southern Russian city of Budyonnovsk, taking some 2,000 people hostage. The six-day standoff ended with a fierce Russian police assault. Some 100 people died in the incident. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do these idiots think that by taking children hostage they will get people to their side? DD
sick sick sick After Grozny was leveled (http://users.westnet.gr/~cgian/grozny.htm), I had a lot of compassion for the Chechens. But you DON'T DON'T DON'T mess with children. To actually target them is repulsive. Those rebels can go to hell.
This is about as low as someone could go, taking over a school filled with students. I pray they get the kids out safely, then I hope the terrorists die a very painful death.
What a horrible horrible thing. There aren't words to describe how rotten it is. I also want to point something out these terrorists who are suspected as causing the airline explosions a week or so ago. The suspected suicide bombers were European women. If any good will come of this perhaps one thing is that people will stop talking about profiling middle eastern men. As soon as we do profile that type of person, the type of person who carries out the attacks will change. It happened in the South American drug smuggling operations. Profiling was impemented and the type of person who was a drug smuggling mule changed. In order to be safe we will have to keep on eye on everyone.
What has the world come to when terrorists target women and children. Are these terrorist/rebels/kidnappers religious extreemists?
Of course ! And take a wild guess as to which religion they are extremists for........??????? The good ole peace loving MUSLIM religion...... DD
What these Chechen rebels are doing is wrong, but if D.C. looked like Grozny, there'd be a bunch of Americans from all religious backgrounds acting out in unacceptable ways. This war started when Chechnya tried to declare independence. It was annexed by force a little over a hundred years ago and is ethnically different from Russia. Their claim was not without merit ...
no one is debating a claim, but they refused to even vote in their own countries ELECTIONS....WTF is that? They have no chance if they use terror instead of using their right to vote. Over 100 years ago......they are part of Russia now...and armed conflict will not get them anything but killed. And I don't buy the many religious backgrounds bit...because there are Christians persecuted all over the world and they aren't blowing themselves up to make a point. I don't see the people of Tibet who are persecuted blowing themselves up, or taking school children hostage. It seems that the Muslim religion is more prone to producing terrorist nutjobs than the others. At least that is the pragmatic look of the world today. DD
What these Chechen rebels are doing is wrong, but if D.C. looked like Grozny, there'd be a bunch of Americans from all religious backgrounds acting out in unacceptable ways. This war started when Chechnya tried to declare independence. It was annexed by force a little over a hundred years ago and is ethnically different from Russia. Their claim was not without merit Now if Americans could just apply this type of nuanced thinking to the plight of the Palstinians maybe we could get somewhere
The elections were rigged, DD. Cohen makes a good point about the Chechen conflict and it's origins. What these insane lunatics are doing is something else altogether. Not long ago, they carried out a long-crafted plot to blow up the grandstand where the Russian generals and their Chechen puppets were having some sort of event. Militarily, it was very successful. That, just in the context of a struggle for independence from a foreign occupier (sound familiar?), might be justified. I might not justify it, but if, as Cohen pondered, some outside power had leveled Washington, I could very well feel differently, as might you. This is unspeakable, using children.
What outside power? They have all been born in Russia, and lived in Russia their whole lives. If they are part of Russia, they are part of Russia. Saying elections are rigged is poppycock, you have to vote to make a difference, and they refused to vote...that doesn't make the elections rigged. Or, maybe the majority of people in the province of Checnya do not want what the rebels want???????? Therefore they know they can't win. I don't know if anyone thought of this, but this will strengthen GWB re-election bid....just more food for thought. DD
I don't feel like googling all the history right now, DD, but you really ought to. It's not that simple, not at all. And, if the elections were rigged, and I think they were, if people chose not to vote, they are making a protest. Some people use the same excuse here in the States. Here, I disagree strongly about doing that, and think a person is a fool not to vote. In Chechnya, I might feel differently.
Originally posted by DaDakota no one is debating a claim, but they refused to vote in ELECTIONS....WTF is that? I don't believe you're being honest here because I know that you're much much brighter than that. ...Neither free nor fair "The Russian authorities are apparently not interested in running a free and fair ballot in Chechnya", stated Dr. Aaron Rhodes, Executive Director of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF). "Rather, much as in 2003, they are seeking to railroad the election of a favoured candidate in a one-horse race", he added. ... http://www.humanrightshouse.org/dllvis5.asp?id=2263 U.S. Says Chechnya Elections Flawed 05:39 PM EST - August 30, 2004 The Associated Press WASHINGTON The State Department said Monday the presidential election in Chechnya was seriously flawed and did not meet international standards. Spokesman Richard Boucher said that the disqualification of a leading candidate on a "mere technicality" particularly concerned the United States. He said Alu Alkhanov, the declared winner in the balloting, faces the difficult task of broadening support among the Chechen people for a more open political process and finding ways to achieve a comprehensive settlement. "We will call on him and others to address themselves to the fundamental tasks which remain unresolved by this election," Boucher said. He also appealed for an end to human rights abuses in Chechnya by all parties and urged that those who committed such abuses be held accountable. http://www.xposed.com/headline_news/52_ds_914025.aspx They have no chance if they use terror instead of using their right to vote. Over 100 years ago......they are part of Russia now...and armed conflict will not get them anything but killed. The Conlonies where never even independent of Britain until the Revolution. Chechnya was independent and had a valid argument for independence. Even a fair election is not the same as independence. And I don't buy the many religious backgrounds bit...because there are Christians persecuted all over the world and they aren't blowing themselves up to make a point. I don't see the people of Tibet who are persecuted blowing themselves up, or taking school children hostage. I don't think Tibet is a valid example, do you? Can you think of why it isn't? As for Christians, how about how those Greek Orthodox in Serbia treated the Muslims in Croatia and Kosovo? They didn't take the children hostage, they just killed them outright. Is that better? It seems that the Muslim religion is more prone to producing terrorist nutjobs than the others. At least that is the pragmatic look of the world today. DD Maybe, but I'm unconvinced. Why? The point has been raised repeatedly, and examples given, of serious nuts from just about every religion. How often do we see Muslims running onto the Olympic Marathon course and grabbing the runner? And I may be ignorant, but I haven't heard of any Muslims who claim to be the messiah, yet we see these sickos repeatedly in the West. Manson? Koresh? Jim Jones? etc etc Or how about the many Jews in the settlements who are willing to kill other Jews because they believe that God gave them some land ... and a Jewish religious extremist killing his own, peace-loving Prime Minister?
Cohen, That idiot at the olympics did not blow himself up. He is not even close to comparable. I don't want to get too far off topic, but the Muslim religion seems to be creating an awful lot of militant terrorits these days. Iran, Afganastan, Pakastan, Saudi Arabia, Chechneya, Phillipines, Libya, etc...etc...etc.... I don't see the same thing happening in other countries with other religions, outside of the Catholics in Ireland, and they have been very quiet since 9-11. DD
The last time I looked the Americans were not occupying the West Bank. The American government is still continuing to support the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.
Don't forget the rest....... "And also contributes heavily to the Palastinian cause as well with monetary and humanitarian aide". DD
