BESLAN, Russia (Reuters) - Russia's top general says he is ready to attack "terrorist bases" anywhere in the world, as security services put a $10 million (5.6 million pound) bounty on two Chechen rebels blamed for last week's school siege.

At the scene of the siege in the southern town of Beslan, medical workers began the painstaking task of identifying more than 100 bodies burned beyond recognition in the explosions which ended the crisis.

"As for launching pre-emptive strikes on terrorist bases, we will carry out all measures to liquidate terrorist bases in any region of the world," General Yuri Baluevsky, chief of Russia's general staff, said, according to Russian news agencies.

"However, this does not mean that we will launch nuclear strikes."

The FSB security service announced the $10 million reward for information leading to the "neutralisation" of Aslan Maskhadov and Shamil Basayev, two Chechen separatist leaders who are household names in Russia after a decade of conflict in the mainly Muslim southern province.

More than 1,200 people were taken hostage in Beslan in the nearby province of North Ossetia and at least 326 were killed and 727 wounded, Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov said, revising the death toll down from an earlier 335. Only 210 bodies have been identified.

"Another 32 body fragments have been found and ... final figures for the number of dead could rise," he said in a report to President Vladimir Putin, posted at www.kremlin.ru.

The broadcast on Russian television of graphic footage filmed by militants inside the school added to the horror as Beslan residents prepared to bury more dead.

The pictures showed the school gym littered with what appeared to be bombs and bomb-making equipment and crammed with hostages, watched over by around six of the masked militants, one of whom was heard murmuring, apparently in an Arabic prayer.

..so what countries WILL they be visiting i wonder? the last three hostage episodes in russia have been turned into massacres NOT by the scum terrorist but the russians themselves. Its like playing rainbow6 for the first time, yknow where you always get the hostages killed, except theyre doing it for real.

-- bub (bub@bub@bub.bub), September 08, 2004

Answers

perhaps zey vill detonate zer doomsday device yah?

-- ds (Dr.Str@nge.love), September 08, 2004.

I think the picture America paints of the Chechen crisis is a little one-sided. If somebody commited genocide against you're people, you'd probably kill a few kids too. I'm not saying it was justified, but remember: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

What's worse than getting kidnapped by the Chechens? Getting saved by the Russians.

-- Anti-bush (Comrade_bleh@hotmail.com), September 08, 2004.

The Russians need to take some lessons from the Israelis on how to stop the terrorists.

-- Garret Ford (Parallax281457689@Yahoo.com), September 16, 2004.

Please tell me that was a joke.

-- Anti-bush (Comrade_bleh@hotmail.com), September 16, 2004.

It was.

-- Garret Ford (Parallax281457689@Yahoo.com), September 17, 2004.

What's worse than getting kidnapped by the Chechens? Getting saved by the Russians.

lol :-)))))))) so funny and so true!!

-- (windowcleaner@work.ummm), September 20, 2004.

Good muslim is dead muslim .I'll turn every fucking muslim pig to a good muslim(dead).

-- Vladimir Putin (fuckmuslimsintheass@putin.ru), September 26, 2004.