One Hostage Confirmed Dead, Some 700 Still Held

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, October 25, 2002

One Hostage Confirmed Dead, Some 700 Still Held

A spokesman for Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) on Thursday confirmed the death of a woman,who was among hundreds of hostages being held at a Moscow theater by Chechen gunmen.

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A spokesman for Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) on Thursday confirmed the death of a woman, who was among hundreds of hostages being held at a Moscow theater by Chechen gunmen.

Speaking to the Channel One television, Sergei Ignatchenko said the gunmen are still holding some 700 people hostage, among whom 75 are foreigners.

He also confirmed the release of 37 hostages, while latest Russian media report said another two teenage girls were just freed.

Ignatchenko said the woman, about 20 years old, was killed in the early hours of the crisis when gunmen stormed the theater in Southeast Moscow on Wednesday evening to press their demand to end the Chechen war. Terrorists handed over her body to two Jordanian doctors on Thursday, he said.

The spokesman said body examination showed that the victim had a gunshot wound in her chest, broken fingers, and a gunpowder burnon her hand.

The police had not identified her as she carried no identity document with her, he added.

Ignatchenko said Russian security agencies were continuing negotiations with the terrorists over the phone or shouting to them through a closed door. The militants are demanding a civilian rally in front of the theater in support for the independence of Chechnya, he added.

He also said the terrorists refused to accept food for the hostages and there was no doctor in the building at the time, noting health problems of some hostages.

Meanwhile, a gunman identified himself as Khasmamat denied reports that the hostages are not permitted to use the toilet or their mobile phones in a live interview with the Ekho Moskvy radio.

He also said they would release 50 people, or all of the children remaining in the building if Chechen administration head Akhmad Kadyrov would go inside the building to negotiate with them.

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