CaptionA man carries a wounded child from School Number One. On September 1 a group of Chechen separatists occupied School Number One. They herded more than 1,000 teachers, parents and pupils into the school gymnasium, and set up bombs and booby traps to prevent any surprise attack, issuing a series of demands that included withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya and the release of prisoners. After two days of negotiations, bombs inside the school were detonated, in circumstances that were unclear, killing many hostages instantly. Russian special forces stormed the building. School Number One was liberated, but more than 330 people were dead, more than half of them children.
