Russian special forces storm Moscow theater

MOSCOW, October 26 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Russian forces stormed a Moscow theatre early Saturday, October 26, ending a three-day hostage-taking by Chechen fighters with a gunfight that killed most of the fighters and up to 30 of the 700 captives.

The hundreds of surviving captives fled the building after several tense hours punctuated by explosions and gunfire, during which the fighter group's leader was also killed, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"Up to 30 people died" among the hostages during the pre-dawn raid, Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov said.

The Interfax news agency said ambulances were used to evacuate several wounded people.

Witnesses said some of the surviving hostage-takers were led out into the street by security forces.

The Chechen fighters, numbering around 50, had said they were ready to die for their cause.

Officials in the crisis center set up to deal with the hostage crisis said 32 of the fighters had been killed.

Deputy Interior Minister Vladimir Vasilyev said "a small number" of the hostage-takers may have escaped.

Russian television showed the blood-caked bodies of Chechen fighters who had been killed during the operation, including black-robed women who had worn explosives strapped to their bodies.

The Interfax correspondent on the scene said he saw several detained fighters being led out of the theatre.

"A number of terrorists have been killed, others taken prisoner," said Sergei Ignachenko, spokesman for the FSB security service.

Another official said security forces were looking for some remaining hostage-takers "who may have changed their clothes and may have mingled with hostages."

The Moscow theatre was now entirely under the control of Russian security forces and the fighters' leader, Movsar Barayev, was among those killed, he added.

There were no casualties among Russian special forces who took part in the operation, officials said.

Freed hostages were seen through the windows of buses leaving the area.

They looked pale and exhausted, some of them leaning their heads against the window, and the men were unshaven.

They were transported to hospital to receive medical evaluations and psychological assistance.

The relative success of the operation to free the hostages will be seen as a victory for President Vladimir Putin, who refused to cave in to the fighters' demand to end Russia's three-year war in the southern republic of Chechnya.

"We managed to stop them from blowing the theatre up and avoided the mass death of hostages, including children," said Vasilyev.

The dramatic events unfolded shortly before a 6:00 am (0200 GMT) deadline set by the fighters for Putin to comply with their demand, beyond which they threatened to start killing their hostages.

Russian security forces used gas in the early stages of the assault, two of the rescued hostages said on Moscow Echo radio.

An actor, among the freed hostages, said the special forces broke into the building after blasting a hole in the side.

Ignachenko said "the explosions occurred inside when the special forces approached the theatre."

The operation lasted about 40 minutes, he told ITAR-TASS.

One hostage, Anya, said they "could sense that the special forces were starting the assault. I don't know what the gas was. I thought, they don't want us to get out of here. We're all going to die."

Moments later, an intense burst of gunfire was heard.

"We understood, it was our people. It came from outside. Our government decided that no-one should get out alive," Anya said.

The heavily armed rebels seized the theatre in southeast Moscow late Wednesday, October 23, during a performance of a hit musical, taking the entire audience hostage, including several dozen foreigners.

They reportedly set up a bomb inside and mined the building, and vowed there would be a bloodbath if Russian soldiers tried to force their way in.

Russian mediators tried to negotiate with the hostage-takers in the days following, while Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders workers were allowed to visit the captives.

After the initial releases of around 30 captives, most of them women and children, conditions deteriorated for the remaining hostages and media allowed to enter the theatre reported that the rebels appeared very determined to carry out their threats.

Early Saturday, as the tense countdown to the deadline was underway, two gunshots were heard inside the theatre.

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