Russian Forces End Moscow Siege

Russian security forces have ended a three-day siege in a Moscow theatre where Chechen guerillas had been holding hundreds hostage.

Russian security officials said Russian troops began storming the building as rebels started killing hostages.

Hostages attempted to escape, setting off booby traps laid in the theatre by the rebels. Russian special forces then rushed in.

Officials confirmed the death of 90 hostages and 34 Chechen hostage-takers. Around 750 of the hostages were saved by the special forces.

Explosion averted

As troops stormed the building, rebels failed to set off explosives carried on their bodies and planted around the building - many were killed straight away in the gunfight which lasted more than an hour.

Russian forces are still said to be looking for rebels who may have escaped in the shooting. One separatist is reported to have been hiding in a group of journalists surrounding the theatre, but was captured by security officials.

After the siege, hundreds of people were taken out of the building, including several wounded. Many were reported to have been unconscious, or in a severe state of schock.

European reactions

European leaders welcomed the raid, which led to freedom for the majority of the hostages. In Berlin, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder said "even though many details are still not clear, we should be happy that most of the hostages, including the Germans, are now safe".

Schröder went on to condemn international terrorism, saying "the siege in Moscow has showed again that terrorism is not justified and that the danger to our society due to terrorism cannot be accepted".

Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer called on Saturday for a peaceful send to the conflict in Chechnya. A political solution was "more than important than ever before", he said.

Three-day siege

Hundreds of hostages – reports on the exact number varied from 700 to nearly 1,000 – had been held hostage since Wednesday night, after Chechen separatists burst into a Moscow musical theatre, firing shots and yelling “Stop the war in Chechnya.”

Around 150 hostages were released on Wednesday night and a handful more were released Thursday morning. In addition, the rebels freed eight children on Friday morning, who left the theatre visibly frightened but still in good health.

However, the Chechens refused to release several dozen Western hostages -- including seven Germans, four Americans, four Canadians and two Austrians – after diplomats called to witness their release arrived too late.

On Thursday, doctors removed the body of a young woman, who had been shot in a scuffle with the rebels shortly after the siege.

The Chechens had demanded that Russian troops withdraw from their homeland within seven days.