US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Thursday called his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov torenew a US offer of helping resolve the hostage crisis at a school in North Ossetia, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said at a news briefing.

"The secretary spoke this morning with Foreign Minister Lavrov and conveyed our concern about the situation and reiterated the offers we have made that we will help out if there is something wecan do to help," Boucher said.

Boucher said Powell also expressed US concern for the "welfare of these children and the people in the school and our absolute condemnation of terrorism and our desire to support the Russians in their fight against terrorism."

Some 400 people, reportedly including 200 schoolchildren, was taken hostage after a group of armed men seized a school in North Ossetia's Beslan region on Wednesday morning.

Talks have begun between local authorities and armed hostage-takers and the militants have demanded the release of all terrorists arrested in June in the hit-and-run raids on crucial facilities in Russia's Ingushetia republic.

Earlier reports said hostage-takers freed 26 women and childrenThursday but kept hundreds more captive.

Source: Xinhua