Beslan

Beslan (russian Беслан) is the city in North Ossetia - Alania region of Russia. Known for Beslan school siege when group of armed terrorists on September 1, 2004 took over 1,100 people hostage.

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The Beslan school hostage crisis (also referred to as the Beslan school siege or Beslan massacre) was a three day hostage-taking of over 1,100 people which ended in the deaths of over 300. It began when a group of armed mostly Ingush and Chechen terrorists took more than 1,100 people (including 777 children) hostage on 1 September 2004, at School Number One (SNO) in the town of Beslan, North Ossetia, an autonomous republic in the North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation.

The hostage taking was carried out by a group sent by the Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, which issued demands of an end to the Second Chechen War. On the third day of the standoff, Russian security forces stormed the building, using tanks, thermobaric rockets, and other heavy weapons. A series of explosions shook the school, followed by a fire which engulfed the building and a chaotic gunbattle between the hostage-takers and Russian security forces. Ultimately, at least 334 hostages were killed, including 186 children; hundreds more were injured and many were reported missing.

The tragedy led to security and political repercussions in Russia, most notably a series of government reforms consolidating power in the Kremlin and strengthening of the powers of the President of Russia. As of 2010, there are many aspects of the crisis still in dispute, including how many militants were involved, their preparations, and whether some of them had escaped. Questions about the government's management of the crisis have also persisted, including disinformation and censorship in news media, repression of journalists who rushed to Beslan, the nature and content of negotiations with the militants, the responsibility for the bloody outcome, and the government's use of possibly excessive force.

Troops involved: Russian police (militsiya),

Russian Army forces; spetsnaz, Alfa and Vympel units of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB);

and the OMON special units of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD)

source: wikipedia