World leaders have called for the immediate and unconditional release of more than 100 people, including a large number of children, being held hostage by terrorists at a school in southern Russia.
White House press secretary, Scott McClellan expressed sympathy and American solidarity with the Russian people, vowing that such attacks would only strengthen the U.S.-Russian partnership in the war on terror.
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan condemned the hostage taking as a criminal act directed against the most vulnerable members of society. The U.N. promptly called for an emergency meeting of the Security Council to address the unfolding crisis.
The group of masked and heavily armed hostage-takers have threatened to kill the hostages en masse in the event Russian police attempt to storm the school complex, located in the Russian region of North Ossetia.
Russia's ITAR-Tass News Agency quoted the attackers as saying that they would kill 50 hostages if one of their own is killed and 20 hostages if one of their number is injured. The group has refused to hold dialogue with Russian government authorities.
Earlier on Wednesday, at least 17 insurgents wearing belts laden with explosives seized the hostages, mainly children, just hours after a suicide bomber killed at least ten and injured dozens outside a busy Moscow subway station. A group that said it had downed two planes in Russia last week, killing nearly 90, has claimed responsibility for the hostage taking.