News Search Search this site or the web powered by FreeFind Site search Web search Story archive		September 4, 2004, Scotsman RACE TO KILL THEM OFF BEFORE THE MURDERS BEGAN Gethin Chamberlain, Diplomatic Correspondent THEY were facing heavily armed fanatics who were in possession of explosives, had wired up charges around the building and were apparently in a position where they could quickly detonate those charges. Approaching the school undetected was nigh on impossible because it was surrounded by open ground. Those inside had already demonstrated their willingness to fire on anyone trying to get close. To cap it all, the terrorists were clearly ruthless and had given every indication that their own safety was not their primary concern. But where the Russian authorities appear to have gone seriously wrong is in their lack of preparation for a violent outcome. As in Moscow in 2002, medical assistance was slow to arrive and there were no ambulances standing by at the scene. They failed to secure the outer perimeter of the site, allowing some of the terrorists to escape, and once they entered the school, they failed to kill or capture the terrorists quickly. What triggered the dramatic end to the crisis remained unclear yesterday, although an initial assessment suggested that the Russian special forces had reacted to events rather than instigated an attack. Russian officials had said that there were no plans to storm the building, but their hand appears to have been forced after the terrorists agreed, at 8: 50am, to allow the removal of bodies of people killed in the initial storming of the school. Ten minutes later, vehicles pulled up at the school to collect the dead but soon after, two loud explosions were heard, followed by automatic gunfire. Reports suggested that one of the terrorists' bombs was accidentally detonated. Whatever happened, shortly afterwards a group of 30 women and children were seen running from the school, some covered in blood. One report suggested that some of the terrorists had also used this moment to escape. The terrorists inside the school opened fire on the fleeing group and explosions were heard from inside the building. It was at that point that the special forces appear to have intervened. At 9: 25am, four special forces helicopters were seen hovering above the school. Five minutes later the roof of the school was reported to have collapsed and aerial pictures showed a large hole. Ambulances were now ferrying away the wounded and by 10am Russian special forces were reported to be inside the building, effecting entry with the use of small explosive charges - known as a mousehole charges - placed against walls and detonated. The task then was to get to the terrorists before they could detonate their charges or turn their guns on the hostages. That was always a race against time, and one which they would have been extraordinarily lucky to win. As it was, they managed to prevent a wholesale slaughter, though they could not stop the terrorists killing at least 100 people in the gym. By 10: 15am, five terrorists were reported dead. Paramedics were seen entering the building with stretchers and, by 10: 30am, 158 children were reported to have been admitted to the field hospital set up nearby. Ten minutes later, more loud explosions were heard coming from the school, possibly more mousehole charges used by Russian soldiers blowing holes in walls to provide an escape route for the hostages. With hostages running for safety and widespread confusion, some terrorists managed to get out. Others were cornered and killed. The fighting continued throughout the day. Coming as it did just a couple of years after the Moscow theatre fiasco, the ending of the Beslan school siege yesterday looked bad for Russia's special forces. Security experts were quick to offer their criticism. "A Wild West gunfight"; "Not the product of a co-ordinated military operation"; and "politically, this is an absolute disaster area" were just a small selection of their scathing comments. Others were less convinced that the Russian special forces had got it wrong. "It is more of a miracle that anyone got out of there alive," said Clive Fairweather, the former second-in- command of Britain's Special Air Service. "If they had planned to go in they would have done so at night for no other reason than that night sights would give an advantage over the terrorists," he said. "You have to have ready a hasty plan so that if they start killing hostages, you go in. No special forces man wants to do it on the hasty option. You need to see what to do and then go and practise it, and they may not have had time to do a proper recce. "I wouldn't have liked to face this situation. The sheer scale of the operation and the fact that they are surrounded makes it very difficult." He pointed to the problems faced by special forces when it became clear they would have to move against the terrorists. Could other special forces have done it better? Despite the criticism, it seems the Russians played it by the book. Eddie Stone, a former SAS sergeant from Paisley, said he thought that in general they had got it just about right. "I can't say that the SAS would have done it any better. "I think they did a reasonable job. If you can get a couple of hundred out and lose a hundred it is better than losing everybody. If they start shooting you have to go for it." The Russian special forces, he said, would have already sketched out an immediate action plan which they would use if the terrorists started to shoot hostages or made an attempt to escape. "You look at getting into the building as fast as you can. As soon as they start killing people you get the green light to go ahead to do the business," he said. The problem they faced was that the terrorists had explosives which they could detonate if they spotted troops moving towards them, and the approach to the school lay across open ground. "You seek out blind spots from the building, then you move alongside it or use a fast rope drop on to the roof," he said. "Then you blow the roof or walls to make a fast entry point and try to get as many people into the building as possible. But it takes only one of them to press a button before you take them out and you are on to a hiding to nothing."
		................................................................................................................. Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved.