Basayev - III

From a previously untranslated part of Basayev's 17 September statement (tr. by Marius L. at Chechnya-SL):

Mujahedin committed a fateful mistake, after allowing to approach to the building "mchs" [Emergency Situations Ministy] - FSB vehicle, not known why.

- MCHS men before the explosions shouted to the hostages -" run out [of the building]"; and the explosions occurred immediately after this.

- Shooting towards the school was conducted to cover the MCHS men; and after the explosion, two our mujahedin who came out to them to meet them, were immediately killed.

- Helicopters with the snipers had appeared immediately.

- It's a lie, that Alfa and Vympel were not ready, that "they even did not split [share] between themselves the scope of fire [target sector] and fire points". Although, politicians have converted them into executioners, they're nevertheless, respected as professionals.

- For the comparison: "The operational HQ reported that the terrorists themselves provoked the spetsnaz. A group of hostages attempted to get out from the hall, explosions and shots inside were heard and to the theatrical center the spetsnaz groups had been dispatched for the rescue of hostages... (they haven't come with
anything knew): Live reporting of the First Channel by correspondent Anna Raiva after the Nord-Ost".

- The General Attorney [Gore-Prokuror] of Rusnya - Ustinov - officially stated to Putin that the mujahedin were changing circuit [chain] and therefore an explosion has occured accidently. Even the last idiot will not be changing chain during the operation, and furthermore at the same moment, when the enemy's vehicle is approaching the building.

- On the walls of gymnasium there were practically no shrapnels, although in the mines there were more than 30 thousand shrapnels (8 pieces of regular army mines - so called "lyagushki" - 2700 shrapnels in each of one, 10 home-made, under "lyagushki" mines - 1000 shrapnels and two MON -1000, home-made of saltpeter - 1000 shrapnels in each).

- The basketball rings, in which there were large mines, intact.

- Self-explosion is excluded - then it would had explode simultaneously all 20 mines, connected into the one chain, and they showed four unexploded mines. One chain [constructed] of four garlands [wreaths], five mined in each, was locked independently of each other on two sides. From four sides of the garlands, small 9
volt batteries were connected, while from the opposite sides - 45 volt ones. I personally, for ten days had prepared this group in the forest near the village of Batako-Yurt, some 20 km from the town of Beslan, and several times had tested this system. There would explode either all of them, or not a one.

- Colonel Orstkhoyev was phoning to my deputy several times during the assault, and said that the Russians were shooting at the hall from a cannon on the panels (stands) [Rus.pult] and cut [broke] [electric] wire. After this, they went for break-through. For the last time he was connecting it was at two P.M. after saying his telephone was running low.

- We propose to the independent experts to verify shrapnels and nature of injuries.

Mujahedin did not shoot at the children, not there was a conflict among them and they did not run into the different directions, "covering themselves up with children" They in principle knew for what they were going and clearly were carrying out all my directives. I said to them " ... if the assault begins, or explosion
takes place in the gymnasium, then you all go forward attacking, for the break-through. You do not sit in the building, do not defend it. The Alfa troopers [Alfovtsy] are trained to attack and to finish [people] off, they are not trained to protect. You attack, break open into the city and try to inflict a maximum casualties on the enemy. Die with dignity and become an example for those, who will take your place after you".

See also the rest of Basayev's statement.