The Laughing Wolf

Russian School Hostage Crisis Update

FLASH TRAFFIC: There are now reports of explosions, gunfire, and fighting. Fox is reporting that at least some hostages are free, but this news is fragmentary and incomplete. There appear to be running gun battles underway.

UPDATE: Interfax is running several stories, but from them it appears that Russian special forces are now in control of most of the school. There is a lot of confusion, and several stories indicate that some of the terrorists switched into "civilian" clothing and are trying to escape into the local population. The first story in the series indicates that a hostage exchange was supposed to be underway, and it was then that two large explosions went off and hostages began to flee. According to this story no assault was planned.

UPDATE: I am working on translating this story from Russian and from it the following appears to emerge: There was to be an evacuation of dead bodies from the school at approximately 1 pm local time, when two explosions went off and shooting began. I am not clear on this, but from some of what is said, it may have been that some of the terrorists were to be let go in exchange for the bodies and possibly others. Something went wrong, that much is clear, and at least some of the terrorists have fled or are fleeing. According to the story, they are saying that at least 10 of the hostages are dead. Sorry this is rough, but my translation is limited.

UPDATE: If you are checking back at Logic & Sanity, I am not sure he is up yet. However, he does have a good figure on the hostages, and it was 354 families, which means that there could be upwards of 1,000 people held hostage. No good figures yet on casualties, but there are several reports of injured going into local hospital(s). One story at Newsru.com indicates at least 200 injured and seems to indicate that they are having trouble evacuating because of the crowds.

UPDATE: Well, my update got eaten, so am going to try to reconstruct it here. First, would someone please tell E.D. Hill and the guy on the ground at Beslan from Fox to shut the hell up. They are editorializing rather than reporting, and some of it appears to be innacurate and all of it is probably unhelpful at this point. From all the sources, the following seems to be the chronology:

At some point near 1300 hours (1 pm) local time, a deal had been reached to allow the dead bodies in or near the school to be removed. This may have been in exchange for allowing some of the terrorists to leave, but that is NOT confirmed and may be nothing more than bad translation on my part. When the ambulances and/or other vehicles entered the area, one of them may have hit one of the mines placed by the terrorists. This, in turn, appears to have set off one or more other devices, resulting in the collapse of part of the roof of the school (gym?, unclear). When this happened, the hostages boiled out, and all hell broke loose.

It appears from some of the Russian reports, poorly translated on my part, that some portion of the terrorists had either come in in "civilian" clothing or had changed into it. One site indicates that the terrorists had local help of some type. At any rate, it allowed them to blend into the crowd, and there appears not to have been a secondary cordon in place, but that is pure speculation on my part at this point. The Russians had no choice but to get everyone out, and try to disable all the remaining explosive devices. All this had to take place while apparently exchanging fire with terrorists. At least one group was chased en masse, and may have tried to take shelter in a nearby house. There is a lot of confusion at this point, but at least one Russian news site is trying to post a chronology. As soon as I can, I will try to get a link up to it. I also hope that Stan wakes up soon.

UPDATE: There is a chronolgy here and it indiates that there are more than 300 injured and that at least 20 children are severely injured. There appears to be no reliable information on the number of dead, though from previous hostage escapes and such there were already at least 15 people executed at the start of the takeover. More appear to have been added, and various reports indicate that the ambulances/other vehicles were going in to collect 20 or 20 plus bodies. Another chronology is here.

UPDATE: As usual, Backcountry Conservative has a good round-up going on.

NOTE: This is a fluid situation and as with all such the "facts" are going to change over time. This is not lies on anyones part, necessarily, but just a factor of the confusion that is inherent in the situation. Keep that in mind, and try to keep in mind facts rather than editorializing that oft passes for reporting. I have a LOT of questions about how things were handled, but am refraining from commenting for now as what we need is fact, not fiction. Please be aware that I do not speak or read Russian (very nimnoga): I use books and machine translation normally, and those are VERY limited tools. I am having to guess at a lot of context here, but am doing the best I can. I really do hope that Stan wakes up soon...

UPDATE: Finally got a chance to go back and check Interfax again, and they are reporting that more than 350 people are wounded; what may be an old report that there are still terrorists in the school (other Russian reports appear to indicate that it is secure now) and that escaping terrorists are trying to flee south; and, that one emergency worker. This news may be very old for such a situation, so take it with a grain of salt.

NOTE: Yes, the Shady Lady, Al-Reuters, and other Western sources are on scene and reporting. No, I am not using them. I am trying to use only Russian sources for these reports as they have consistently provided better coverage, more complete coverage, and tend to clearly label their spin. That is how Stan at Logic & Sanity has provided such outstanding coverage the last couple of days: he is going direct to the sources and translating. As a result, anyone reading those updates has a heck of a lot more factual information on the situation than most.

UPDATE: Praise be! Stan is back up and is posting!! This is the best coverage out there, so get over and scroll down. The bad news is, he is already reporting that at least 150 are dead. I suspect strongly that this figure will rise. Please take a moment from your day, stop right now, and pray, think, meditate, chant, or do whatever it is you do. Do so for those lost, for those injured, for those in need, and for those left behind.

UPDATE: Rusty Shackelford has some thoughts up on this, and I agree with him: horrible and sickening; but, add to that I am mad. If I am mad, I can only imagine how the Russians feel right now, and am amazed that the alleged accomplice caught by citizens was given over alive to authorities. I am also not surprised that one of the terrorists was apparently caught by the citizens, beaten, and possibly killed. The terrorists that got out better hope that the soldiers get them first, as it will be a lot cleaner. As for me, I think the soldiers should get them, hamstring them, and turn them over to the local women. I bet they can last a long, long time.

NOTE: I am taking a break, as Stan is back on the job. He does a great job, and I think he has done the best coverage of this story in the West bar none. Read him.

MESSAGE TO THE TERRORISTS AND THOSE BEHIND THEM: Poshol v pizdu; et V grobu ya tebya vidal! Not quite right, but close enough for an English keyboard.

UPDATE: How can we look at such images and not weep? How can we see this and not be moved? What heart be stone and not moved? I make no claim of being objective at this point, or even trying. When Stan came back, I stepped back, and the wall came tumbling down. You are warned.

UPDATE: According to this story there appear to be 9 Arabs in the terrorist group. Keep checking back with Stan on this, as there is much more to come I am afraid.

UPDATE: More images here, here, here, here, and here. Another gallery starts here. What I said before does not even come close, it was much too mild.

UPDATE: I have been most remiss this morning, as Michele has been covering this at The Command Post as well.

UPDATE: Shtob ty Sgorel! They clubbed the children and/or shot them in the back.

UPDATE: Stan is continuing to provide the finest coverage. According to his sources, the toll is 60 dead hostages identified so far, and 690 wounded. I expect this will go up, alas.

UPDATE: Another photo gallery is here. And another.

UPDATE: Keep trying to let Allah know of Stan, but comment registration does not like me, won't let me post despite registration, etc. Bad Allah. Bad comment registration.

UPDATE: Night has fallen in Breslan, a shroud over a day of horror, hope, loss, and joy. Far too many paid the price this day, and it will be many days before we have a good idea of what happened, and how. I suspect much, but will not sully this day, this post, with idle speculation. For now, I leave you with Stan's translation of one hostage's account as some food for thought. Pray for those lost this day, for those hurt, and those left behind. Remember that there are those who have trained to make this happen elsewhere, including here. Then, pray some more. I leave you now to your thoughts, for I must step back for a while. Keep checking Stan, and I want to thank him right now for the work he has done, and also thank Olka for her contributions as well.

END
Earlier posts are here and here. Some food for thought is here. Aftermath and some commentary is here. I also suggest that you click here and scroll down to find the latest information on this story in case this update segment is not updated regularly.