Beslan School Siege — Chaotic Assault Adds to Death Toll

Chechen and Ingush militants seized School No. 1 in Beslan, North Ossetia, on 1 September 2004, taking over 1,100 hostages, mostly children. When explosions and gunfire broke out on the third day, Russian security forces launched a chaotic assault using tanks, rockets, and incendiary weapons against a building still full of hostages; 334 civilians died, including 186 children. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2017 that Russian authorities had failed to take reasonable measures to prevent the attack despite advance intelligence, and had used disproportionate and poorly planned force during the rescue operation that contributed to the death toll.