Hostage killed in Moscow siege
Putin blames Chechen theater siege on ‘foreign terrorist centers’
AL-JAZEERA AIRS STATEMENTS
In a broadcast monitored in Cairo, Egypt, the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite TV channel aired a videotaped statement by one of the gunman from inside the theater.
“I swear by God we are more keen on dying than you are keen on living,” a black-clad male hostage-taker said in the broadcast.
“Each one of us is willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of God and the independence of Chechnya.”
“Even if we are killed, thousands of brothers and sisters will come after us, ready to sacrifice themselves,” declared a female hostage-taker, covered from head to toe in black except for her eyes.
An Al-Jazeera employee said the tape had been delivered on Wednesday, apparently before the raid. That underlined the intense planning behind the extraordinary operation, which brought the Chechen war 865 miles north to the Russian capital.
“We came to the Russian capital to stop the war or gain martyrdom, and our demands are stopping the war and the withdrawal of Russian troops,” one of the speakers said.
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