Explosions Heard in Russian School Standoff
John 11:35 "Jesus wept." Fox News:
Two large blasts went off Thursday near a school in southern Russia, where militants were holding hundreds of children and adults hostage.
The extremists were said to be heavily armed — some with bombs strapped to their bodies — as the standoff entered a second day. About 350 hostages were being held after terrorists stormed the school early Wednesday.
The explosions shook the area about 10 minutes apart, leaving a plume of black smoke in their wake. A soldier told FOX News that the terrorists fired on a car and that was the apparent source of the explosion.
The militants were also sporadically firing rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles from the school, FOX News has learned.
Thanks to Jeff Quinton for notifying me about this. He first heard the news from James Joyner. I don't know what to say. I'm speechless. Literally. I'm going to pray.
Update: Sigh of relief. Jeff pointed out that the Command Post is reporting that the terrorist scumbags blew up a car outside the building. A short reprieve, at the very least. Let's hope this situation turns out better than what I am expecting.
1
They just blew up a car outside apparently. More details updated on my post and at The Command Post.
Posted by: Jeff at September 02, 2004 08:13 AM (VxoRA)
2
Jeff's right, 2 cars that were too close to the school had grenades thrown at them causing this blast. There is also a report that either 26 or 31 teachers and students were released. That's all I could find.
~C
Posted by: firstbrokenangel at September 02, 2004 09:33 AM (D39Vm)
3
The only other thing I could find, out of Al Jazeera no less, is that the bloodshed is not going to stop even with the new elections. 8 people have died and they believe those people were parents who fought against the rebels who were grabbing their kids as they walked them into the school. I did hear a report that one rebel was killed yesterday but a Russian soldier was killed today. This is a bad mess. Someone noted awhile back that Al Qaida was copying the Checkyn rebels but it's obviously the other way around. How else to terrorize so many people by holding hostage kids, ages 7 through 17 in a school gym and walking around with suicide belts on? I sure hope God is watching.
~C
Posted by: firstbrokenangel at September 02, 2004 09:41 AM (D39Vm)
4
Just remember: that's what they want you to think that they want you to think they want.
Posted by: The Big D, Rusty Shackleford at September 02, 2004 03:10 PM (s0ici)
Right now, things are going down. They stormed the school. 12 dead, 158 kids in hospital, 5 militants dead, fighting going on all over the place. NEED HELP WITH THIS. Who is keeping up to date on this right now????? Even the CNN reporter there really can't say exactly what is going on by videophone. IS ANYONE FOLLOWING THIS???? The Russian soldiers are now in control of the school.
Rusty, tell me something - WHY ARE THESE KIDS NAKED??
~Cindy
Posted by: firstbrokenangel at September 03, 2004 06:50 AM (D39Vm)
Hostage Crisis in Ossetia: Hundreds of Schoolchildren InvolvedUpdates: See this post. The school has been stormed and hundreds dead.
Savages. This hostage crisis represents a clear turn in tactics among Muslim insurgents. The hostage takers appear to be Chechen, but their demands are not related to the Islamic insurgency in the Caucuses. Rather, they claim that this is about the undeclared war between Russia and Georgia in South Ossetia. Please see this post for background. What is so frightening about this is that it represents an alliance of convenience between Islamic terrorists and Christian Georgians. Both have a common enemy in Russia, although, I find it hard to believe that any Georgians knew of this attack in advance. However, it is evidence that terrorists will back nation-states, even ones that they consider immoral on theologic grounds, for the sake of common enemies and more immediate goals. NY Times:
Heavily armed insurgents, some with explosives strapped to their bodies, seized a school in southern Russia today and herded scores of schoolchildren and others into its gymnasium.
More than a dozen guerrillas, including men and women, stormed Middle School No. 1 in the town of Beslan in the republic of North Ossetia, not far from Chechnya on Russia's southern border with Georgia, just moments after the opening of the new school year, according to officials there and news reports.
Gunfire erupted during the seizure and afterwards. At least 3 people were reported killed and at least 10 wounded, according to preliminary accounts.
The local police, as well as special forces and soldiers from Russia's 58th Army, surrounded the school, creating a nervous stand-off that continued into this afternoon. Rossiya, the state television network, showed a camouflaged soldier racing a young girl, dressed in a light lavender dress, to safety.
With the school in their hands and evidently trip-wired with explosives, the guerrillas released one hostage with a list of demands, officials told official news agencies. Later the guerrillas freed 15 more hostages and Russian news agencies said 50 children escaped during a lull in the fighting.
A man who answered the telephone at the school and identified himself as "the press secretary" of the fighters said they wanted talks with the leaders of North Ossetia and neighboring Ingushetia, as well as with a pediatrician who took part in negotiations with insurgents who seized a Moscow theater in October 2002.
"Wipe your sniffles," the man said, speaking in Russian with a distinct Chechen accent, when asked what they wanted to discuss with the officials, and then hung up.
Updates Later.
Hat tip: Jeff Quinton. I will be in class all morning, Jeff's site will be a good resource to use for more immediate updates.
1
There's between 400-700 children in that school; why they can't come up with an exact number, I have no idea. Ages run 7 through 17. 10 Injured, lost the amount of dead. Place is blocked off and they say if rushed, they will blow up the school and everyone in it if Russian soldiers do not leave Checkyna. Now we all know what happened at the theatre when Checkyn rebels took that - just about everyone died from either hands because Russians soldiers did indeed go in even if it meant killing their own people. Two female Checkyn rebels were on the places - as suicide bombers and blew the planes up in the air. There was a witness to one of them - the plane just exploded in midair. Another Checkyn female as a suicide bomber in Moscow of late - probably because they didn't get anough attention the first several times they tried bombing a place.
I'm concerned about these Children. Russia will do what it has to do and will not tolerate terrorists and will go in after them even if it kills many of the children. I don't think it's very smart of any terrorist to pick on children and use them as bait; there should be a law against using this mode. They will either die from the Checkyn's or the Russians or both and what a waste that would be. The Russian soldiers are not going to leave Checkyna, so in basics, these rebels, these terrorists have picked the wrong group to hold hostage. Russian Soldiers are not going to leave, so what will the Checkyn terrorists do? What will the Russians do? They aren't going to bartar, so be prepared for many many children's death. This is very bad.
~C
Posted by: firstbrokenangel at September 01, 2004 12:22 PM (D39Vm)
2
This would be an ideal opportunity for all those saintly "human shields" who sought to protect Iraq from harm to apply themselves and replace the child hostages.
3
This is actually totally confusing. The media are all over the place about who these terrorists are. From what I can glean, and in response to your post, they may be Chechens, OR they may be ethnic Ossetians who are representing the interests of the mostly Muslim Ossetian minority in the breakaway republic of South Ossetia currently attached to Georgia. I'm not sure what religion non-Russian North Ossetians commonly are, but South Ossetians are Persian-derived Muslims.
Posted by: John-Paul Pagano at September 01, 2004 07:19 PM (2k4uh)
4
Wno is doing a constant update on this? I'm watching CNN as things are unfolding; having a little more information would be helpful at this time.
~C
Posted by: firstbrokenangel at September 03, 2004 06:30 AM (D39Vm)
8 Killled in Moscow Metro Bombing
I used to ride this metro system everyday. I have friends in Moscow. I'm pissed. I'll update this post later. Via Jeff Quinton.
According to Itar-Tass, the blast was just outside the Rizhskaya metro station. Below is a map of the Moscow metro system. Rizhskaya is on the light orange Kaluzhkaya-Rizhkaya line. It is near the center of the city, just one stop North of the ring line. To put this in perspective, I used to live near Belorusskaya on the brown ring line.
Update: Via McQ at QandO it appears that it was a Chechen Woman who was responsible. Also, via Ace, the evidence now seems to confirm earlier reports that pointed to Chechen women being behind the Russian airline explosions a few days ago. The women, it seems, hid the explosives in a very, er, "awkward place".
1
I see that Al Queda is trying to alter elections there before coming here. I too have friends there, so this angers me too.
Posted by: Michele at August 31, 2004 12:56 PM (2c9qq)
2
Russia doesn't have airline security in place. Yes, the women were Checkyn and they were suicide bombers but I do not believe that the bombs were in an "awkward place," Just because they were women doesn't mean they'd put bombs inside themselves. That's just sick. Russia needs to put security like ours in place to catch these bombers. What is with female suicide bombers? Only men could come up with the idea that because they were women, the bomb was in an "awkward place." How the hell would they know? There was no body left - incinerated so there is no way to prove that. No one has claimed responsibility for either the airplanes or the Moscow bombing, even the Checkynan's say it wasn't them, so who really knows? Right now we know Checkyn rebels are holding 400 kids and students in a school they'll bomb if Russia tries to go in and from experience, Putin has no patience for this kind of thing, so if Checkyna wants the blood of children on their hands, they better walk out of that school.
~C
PS You haven't brought up Darfur lately or the UN not doing anything about it lately. I think the UN needs to be replaced with people who will do their job right.
Posted by: firstbrokenangel at September 01, 2004 01:07 PM (D39Vm)
Two Women Suspected of Russian Airline BombingsChechen ERA:
Russian investigators announced today explosives were found on both planes that crashed with the loss of 90 lives, as attention focussed on the roles of two dead female passengers believed to be of Chechen origin.
The Russian press was quick to paint the pair as the latest in a line of female suicide bombers from the strife-torn Caucasus republic to strike, citing their suspected ethnic origins and the fact no relatives have come forward to claim their remains.
Posted by: Rusty at
06:26 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 86 words, total size 1 kb.
1
I'd like to know who brought down those planes...
Rusty, about the bombing... that's been done several times now. It didn't dawn on me at the time that it could be related but that's really the only honest reasonableness for continually trying to terrorize that spot. Good job of putting it together.
~Cindy
Posted by: firstbrokenangel at August 25, 2004 04:33 PM (D39Vm)
After careful research (meaning me looking at a map and slapping forehead) Dr. Rusty Shackleford retracts his earlier statement that the bombing at a bus station two days ago in Moscow was probably unrelated to yestereday's downing of two Russian Airliners. My Pet Jawa has learned that the two are probably connected.
An explosion went off at a bus stop at 30 Kashirskoye Shosse on Tuesday, injuring four people, a Federal Security Service spokesman said.
Initially, my thoughts were that the bus bombing was not terrorist related, or if it was, that this act of terrorism was not connected to the airplane bombings because this particular location is nowhere near any logical terrorist targets. However, it turns out that the both planes that went down took off from Moscow's Domodedovo airport which is 22 km south of Moscow on Kashirskoye Shosse.
So, we have two planes going down from the same airport. The day before, a bus bomb went off on a bus line that leads to that airport. Is it a coincidence? Not likely. Further, more recent reports reveal that the bus stop was located across the street from a police station and went off at a time when police shifts were changing, hence a motive for this particular location.
Further, this is not the first act of terrorism on Kashirskoye Shosse. On September 13, 1999 a bomb went off in a residential apartment building located on Kashirskoye killing 19 people.
Added together, we have a strong case that the bus bombing was related to airplane attrocities committed the next day. It is even possible that the same person/persons committed both acts given the close proximity of the airport.
1
C'mon Rusty, as an ex- ex-pat (like me) in Russia you know that those 1999 bombs were not set off by Chechens. A few days later they found FSB guys setting up another one.
The planes I can believe are terrorism. The bus stop bomb? I think you're stretching the link here. If you were there 9 years ago, well, that's just before we left (91-end 96) and 400 grammes of TNT equivalent was nothing unusual. I remember being in the American Bar and Grill and a Mercedes, belonging to diners at another table, blowing up outside. Famous actors not paying their protection money.
As I say, planes down quite possibly terrorism, the apartment bombings in '99 almost certainly FSB giving a pretext for the second Cechen war and the bus stop, might be terrorism but more likely just "krisha" business as usual.
Posted by: Tim Worstall at August 26, 2004 05:23 AM (czhuR)
Russian Airliner Down, Another Missing (Update: Hijack Signal Sent)
My regular readers know I follow Russian politics fairly closely. This just in from Jeff Quinton, news of two airplanes:
Air controllers on Tuesday lost contact with the second airplane with 44 passengers on board, Interfax news agency reported.
It quoted Emergencies ministry as saying contacts with Tu-154 flying from Moscow to the Black Sea resort of Sochi were lost at 3 p.m. EDT when it was expected to be 90 miles from the southern city of Rostov-on-Don.
Earlier Russian news agencies said that around the same time one more Russian passenger plane with more than 40 people on board went missing near the town of Tula south of Moscow.
When I was in Russia, some 9 years ago, it was not an uncommon experience for Aeroflot (the national airline) to land midway between destinations on domestic flights such as these. The crew would then tell the passengers they were out of gas, and unless the passengers forked over some cash they would be stuck. That was the sorry state of Russian airlines, but surprisingly crashes were few and far between.
One Russian airplane going down would not surprise me. Two, and I'm thinking terrorism. Remember, the Russians are fighting a hot war in Chechnya and a cold war against Georgia over South Ossetia. Updates in extended entry.
Update: A few thoughts
1) Chechnya. There is an election in Chechnya Sunday. While Spain continues to deny that the Madrid bombing affected elections, terrorist organizations assuredly read the elections that way. They bomb, Spain elects a government wishing to pull out of Iraq--no brainer. For liberals making their way to this blog for the first time and who have been led to believe that war in Chechnya is a simple war of liberation unrelated to the War on Terror, I would ask them to look at this pic of what Chechens 'freedom fighters' do to Russian soldiers they capture (Warning: Very Graphic!!!). There is a vast army of jihadis in the world stretching from the Phillipines to the Balkaans and connected by common ideology, tactics, and goals.
2) While I suspect Chechens are behind this, let's not forget that Russia is involved in another war in Georgia's South Ossetia. Ossetians are ethnically Russian and have been fighting a low intensity war of independence for the past decade. In the past two-weeks, the new Georgian Prime Minister vowed to take South Ossetia back and the shooting began again. The Georgian government has accused Russia of supporting the rebels (--probably true) and both governments have warned that there could be international consequences for the escalating violence. It is not likely that these planes were brought down by Georgians, but it remains a remote possibility. Background on the fighting in Ossetia can be found in this post.
3) A bomb went off at a bus stop in Moscow yesterday. Allah in public and Jeff Quinton in a private correspondence wondered if there was a connection since the Moscow Police have stated they think the bomb was the work of terrorists. While not ruling out the possibility, it should be noted that the bus stop where this bomb went off is on the outskirts of town--or at least, not in the central district in Moscow. It would be an odd location for a terrorist to set off a bomb. Moscow is not set up like New York of Los Angeles. There are no real 'suburbs' as we think of them and the farther you get from the center the farther you get from everything. Unless the Chechens are adopting Hamas style bus bombing tactics, it seems an odd location. My experience is that the Moscow Police are quick to shoot off their mouths and to blame anything out of the ordinary on Chechens or other 'undesirables'. Think Sherrif Roscoe P. Coletrain, only a heavy drinker, slightly corrupt, and a whole lot more of a biggot--that's your average cop in Russia.
Posted by: firstbrokenangel at August 24, 2004 06:22 PM (t0rjm)
2
Is there any word on these planes? Were they shot down, do you think? I have pictures of Checkyn rebels, small video, doing to a russian solder a wee bit worse than the one you have and if you need it, I will find it for you; it's a good one to show the brutality of these rebels.
I know and follow what is going on in Georgia as well as what is going on in Sudan, Chad and Bulgaria. Although there are a few of us who are concerned about this - and everyone should be - the little video shows the barbarism of their actions to the Russian soldiers.
Let me know and I'll find it among the thousands of bookmarks I have; people should see because crualty like this should never be tolerated. There is also a video of a guy who has a shoulder RPG after a helicopter. This terrorism has got to stop; it's getting way out of hand. Let me know what you need and I'll send it to you.
~C
Posted by: firstbrokenangel at August 24, 2004 10:47 PM (t0rjm)
3
Wizbangblof on their site said both planes crashed.
~C
Posted by: firstbrokenangel at August 25, 2004 12:00 AM (t0rjm)
4
Found this on NEIN:
In an obvious act of coordinated terrorism, two Russian passenger airliners originating from Moscow's Domodedovo Airport were blown from the skies within minutes of each other, killing all 90 passengers and crew from both aircraft. In the wake of Chechnyan elections scheduled for this Sunday, Russian officials had expressed previous concerns of terrorist acts in the days leading up the elections. The upcoming elections will choose a successor to Akhmad Kadyrov, who was assassinated on May 9th in the Chechen capital of Grozny.
Debris from the Tupolev TU-154 that carried 38 passengers and 8 crew members from Moscow was discovered in the Rostov region; debris from the second flight also originating from Moscow, a Volga Avia Express TU-134 carrying 35 passengers and 9 crew members was found in the Tula region, 125 miles south of Moscow. Witnesses in Tula reported seeing an explosion before the plane plunged out of the sky.
Sources within US Intelligence Agencies have expressed concern for an increase of terrorist events in the United States in the days leading up to the November presidential elections. Intelligence analysts from the Northeast Intelligence Network have found signs of cooperative efforts between Chechen separatist rebels and Islamic fundamentalists from al Qaeda, especially in recent months, based on Internet communications and US government sources. This incident appears to have the signature of al Qaeda, and is privately causing further concern for the November elections here in the US.
Cindy
Posted by: firstbrokenangel at August 25, 2004 07:30 AM (t0rjm)
5
Does anyone have a list of the passengers who died on this plane. I have dear friends that live in the region and I want to make sure that they were not on the planes. Thanks
Posted by: Ros at August 29, 2004 11:08 AM (efpyF)
Ossetia Rebels on the Run
Once again, this is not looking good. I have no bone to pick with Georgia, I just worry this could lead to a regional conflict. Background here. More below.
more...
Posted by: Rusty at
01:11 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 951 words, total size 6 kb.
Ossetia Ceasefire Broken
Thanks to Jane for e-mailing me about a surprisingly cogent analysis of the crisis that looms between Georgia and Russia over Ossetia--found in all places the Arab News. Unfortunately, it looks like the cease-fire brokered over the weekend may already be collapsing. Story in extended entry.
Background on the conflict here. For other Russia related news, see Winds of Change which has a monthly roundup on the region.
more...
Posted by: Rusty at
02:04 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 403 words, total size 3 kb.
Georgia and Separatist S.Ossetia Agree Cease-Fire
I know I may be the only blogger out here who cares about this. What can I say? Ya za Rossii. If you are one of the three readers who have been following this, go to the extended entry for some good news. Hopefully, this is not the calm that preceeds the storm.
more...
1
Good news. You don't hear much about this situation, or the rest of the Caucasus for that matter.
Posted by: mal at August 13, 2004 06:31 PM (eKX+H)
2
You are fulfilling one of the great tasks of the blogosphere, keeping people updated on things that they don't hear much about in the "major media" or "mainstream news organizations." Bravo.
4
I hope this works. There is too much stuff over there to let things get so out of control that any of these little countries made after the Fall of the Soviet Union, could end up nuking the entire world. Checknya (sp?) has been a thorn in Putin's side and if these people start fighting them too - anything and everything could go and that is NOT a good thing at all!
~C
Posted by: firstbrokenangel at August 14, 2004 10:59 AM (t0rjm)
5
Keep it up, man - we can't let events in Russia slip under the radar. We've got to keep one eye on Putin at all times.
Ossetia: Impending War, Georgia vs. Russia
The fighting between ethnic Russians in Ossetia and Georgia is escalating. This is not good. Up til now, Russia has fought this war through it's proxies in the Ossetian resistance. If Russia refuses to withdraw it's 'peacekeepers', this could escelate from civil war to full fledged international conflict. Further, other regional actors could get drawn into the fight in an effort to exploit the instability.
I have been speculating for some time that the reason Putin suddenly decided to improve relations with the US, by backing our pre-war claims of WMD in Iraq, was that he wanted a free hand in dealing with the Chechen rebels. I now wonder if Ossetia was part of his calculations? It should be noted that Georgian troops are US trained, while Ossetian rebels are backed by Russia. News and other info in extended entry.
more...
Posted by: Rusty at
10:52 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 964 words, total size 7 kb.
