Moscow siege: children freed

Extremists holding hundreds of hostages in a Moscow theatre have this morning released eight children.

The development comes as it emerges that the fanatical Chechen suicide squad - many of them women - have turned themselves into human bombs - one has a pack of high explosives strapped to her waist.

Others in the 50-strong gang are dressed in combat gear and balaclavas and are armed with Kalashnikov-style assault rifles, grenades and pistols.

The lives of men, women and children hang in the balance. They include two Britons, Sidica and Richard Low, a mother and son from Southgate, north London.

As the hours pass, full details of the dangerous stand-off between the terrorists and the authorities are emerging.

It is now known that a bomb has been placed at the centre of the theatre and that all the aisles and the stages have been mined. Many of the hostages have been strapped into their seats.

It has also become clear that the terrorists seized the theatre on Wednesday intent on causing a bloodbath.

As world leaders pleaded with them to show leniency, one of the Chechens warned that they expect to die.

"We have travelled 2,000 kilometres. We know we are not going home," he said. "I swear by God we are more keen on dying than you are keen on living."

The rebel group's leader, Movsar Baraye, said his " suicide fighters" are prepared to die for Chechen independence. The Chechens have already killed one woman and yesterday wounded another with a grenade launcher as she escaped from the building.

The pictures are being viewed with horror by relatives of the hostages around the world.

Peter Low, a Briton in his sixties, was allowed to leave the theatre because he has a heart condition. Mr Low was escorted by Red Cross officials before being taken to hospital.

But Mr Low, who is being cared for at the British Embassy in Moscow, was forced to leave his wife and son behind.

He and his daughter Louise, who is 1,500 miles away in London, can do nothing but watch as President Putin and his negotiators

to end the crisis. Among those at the scene is British Ambassador Sir Rod Lyne but other British experts are on their way. A team of British counter-terrorism experts will arrive in Moscow today to help the Russians.

The crack squad were sent to Moscow by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.

Announcing the initiative, Mr Straw said: "I said this morning that we had a paramount responsibility to do everything we can to secure the safety of the British and other hostages in Moscow. I am sending a team of counter-terrorism experts to advise on that situation."

There is a glimmer of hope that the terrorists will see reason. This morning they said they will release 75 of the foreign hostages today. They include Americans, Dutch, Australians, Austrians and Germans. Embassies have been asked to send representatives to meet their freed citizens.

As a sign of good faith, some hostages are slowly being released in groups.

Sergei Ignatchenko, a spokesman for the Federal Security Service, said one person was freed in the early hours and a further six, all apparently men, five hours later.

But the situation remains dangerously tense. Hostage Maria Shkolnikova told a Moscow radio station: "People are close to a nervous breakdown. Things in the hall have become more aggressive. You can sense it in people's voices."

Another hostage said conditions were growing worse because the captives had not received food or water. She said they have been using the orchestra pit as a lavatory. Some of the hostages have been starting to sympathise with their captors. A few have called relatives from mobile phones urging them to stage anti-war demonstrations in Moscow.

Hostage Anna Adrianova told Ekho Moskvy radio: "We are safe and sound, it's warm and we have water and there's nothing else we need in a situation like this." She said the hostages were pleading to Russia's leaders for the situation to be resolved immediately - but without use of force.

In the face of the biggest test since he came to office, President Putin appeared on Russian television last night and signalled that his government would continue to take a tough line.

He refused to give in to the group's demand that Russia end its military campaign in the southern region of Chechnya and stressed that the safety of the hostages was paramount.

He said: "We will not give in to provocations. The most important thing is to guarantee the safety of areas near the theatre, to help the hostages and to assist their relatives."

Others are also trying to use their influence. Prominent liberal parliament member Irina Khakamada and lawmaker Iosif Kobzon - who is also a singer beloved by Chechens - spoke to the captors and secured a promise that citizens of countries "not at war with Chechnya" would be released.

The theatre is only 2.7 miles from the Kremlin, further undermining claims by Mr Putin and other top Russian officials that the situation is under control in Chechnya.

Mr Putin described the hostage-taking as one of the largest terror attacks in history and claimed it had been planned "in one of the foreign terrorist centres" that "made a plan and found the perpetrators".

Russians have been describing it as their 11 September.