Link: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...ussia_school_seizure&cid=518&ncid=716
Video: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/apdaily/090304-11v.htm
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As most of you might already know, the tragic ending to the school siege. The reason I opened this topic is to discuss what the Russian soldiers did wrong. And how this mistakes could have been avoided.
A deal was originally reached with the hostage takers to allow ambulance to carry out the bodies of those who have been killed, but as the ambulance approached the building, a bomb went off in the school gym, shortly followed by a second explosion as describe by people at the scene. The hostages, frightend by the explosions, attempted to flee. Several gunmen open fire on the hostages killing and wounding dozens. As a result, soldiers from Russian Interior Ministry returned fire at the terrorist, sparking a gun battle that lasted two hours. In the end, twenty terrorists were killed, four captured, two believed to have escaped along with over two hundred of the hostages dead.(Note: The assault was never planned, this was confirmed by a FSB commander at the scene)
The following pictures from BBC.com will show you what happened during the whole incident.
The stand off
The terrorist stormed in the school on Wednesday, September 1st, taking more than 1,000 childrens and adults hostage. Local authorities and police responded and the stand off begun. The next day, Spetznaz arrives at the scene.
Inside the school gym
Most of the 1,000 hostages were forced to cramp in the school gym, which is only a little bigger than a basketball court. The terrorist taped explosives along the gym walls and ceiling. Periodically the terrorist fire their guns to terrorify the childrens.
The trigger
Just before 0900 GMT, a deal was reached with the hostage takers to allow an ambulance to carry out the dead. A minute later after the paramedics went in to collect the bodies, an explosion and gunfire was heard, and was followed by a second explosion. Hostages stated to panic and ran, and terrorist opened fire on them. Spetznaz responded with gunfire.
The assualt
Spetznaz stormed the school, however, their efforts were slowed down by dozens of parents and relatives who breached the police cordon and added confusion to the situation. Russian President Vladimir Putin later says the decision to go in was unplanned and taken after the attackers started shooting at children. At 1005 GMT, Russian commanders report that their troops are nearly in full command of the building, but the gunfire continues. At 1040, three armoured personnel carriers with troops approach the school. New blasts are heard as commandos blow holes in walls to allow hostages to escape. At around 1200, sappers begin demining the school buildings and grounds.
The escape
As the troops assaulted, half naked childrens began to run away from the building. Some were carried out by adults. Those who are not seriously hurt are desperate for water. They are first treated at a field hospital set up nearby. Military and civilian ambulances, as well as civilian cars commandeered by soldiers, are used to take the injured to different hospitals. Later, hundreds of bodies, many of them children, are found in the debris of the school gym.
The end
In the confusion that follows the storming of the school, a group of attackers manages to flee, apparently by mixing in with hostages and relatives flooding the area.
Some of the attackers reportedly head south and take refuge in a nearby house where they are surrounded by special forces and later killed. Three others apparently flee to the school basement from where they continue to fire at the troops until they are captured alive on Friday evening. On Saturday, Russian security forces say 27 militants were killed at the school. But there are still contradictory reports as to whether any of those who escaped are still on the run.
In my opinion, the commandos made several fatal errors, I'll list them below.
1. Russian authorities failed to clear the scene of bystanders and secure it, which cause alot of confusion during the gun battle and allowed some of the the terrorist to slip away.
2. The commandos were not decisive enough. They returned fire from outside the building when there are still dozens of hostages inside. This went on for about an hour.
3. There wasn't enough emergency vehicles and crews at the scene. Many bystanders use their own cars to ferry some of the wounded to hopital nearby. If more medical personal were on the scene, at least a dozen hostage could have been saved.
Leave your opinion if you have anything to contribute.
And last, I would like to condem the terrorist for their brutality towards defenceless childrens and best wishes to the families in Russia who lost their love ones.
