Basayev claims responsibility for Beslan school siege

[russian33]

MOSCOW - According to a Chechen rebel Web Site, Shamil Basayev, a Chechen warlord, has issued a statement on Friday, in which he claims responsibility for Beslan school siege. During the tragedy more than 320 hostages were killed, half of them children. Basayev, who is the most wanted man in Russia, said in his statement that brigades of the group Riyadus-Salikhin, which he heads, carried out the terror attack in Beslan and also two bomb attacks that downed two passenger airplanes in Russia at the end of August, www.kavkazcenter.com reports.

Basayev is behind the most atrocious terrorist attacks against Russian targets and has been fighting Russian forces for more than 13 years. Basayev blamed Russian president Vladimir Putin for the bloody outcome of the Beslan crisis. The warlord claims that the storm of the school was planned from the very beginning and finally led to the bloodshed.

Basayev states that the group of rebels who seized more than 1,100 hostages demanded withdrawal of the Russian forces from Chechnya and resignation of Putin in case the first condition was not met. He also says that in case of meeting demands the hostages would be given food and water and the youngest children would be released.

Kremlin has ruled out any negotiations with terrorists and put a bounty of $10 million to those who will help to track down Basayev and the Chechen leader Aslan Maskhadov.

http://www.russiajournal.com/news/cnews-article.shtml?nd=45533