U.S. to declare Chechen groups terrorists
From Andrea Koppel
CNN
 |
Chechen extremists laid seige to a Moscow theater in October.
Story Tools
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In a nod to Russia, Secretary of State Colin Powell has decided to designate three Chechen groups as terrorist organizations, a State Department official said Thursday.
This official said the United States believes these groups, which he declined to name, were involved in an attack on a Moscow theater last October.
More than 100 hostages died when Russian forces used gas to end a 58-hour siege at the theater where a group of Chechen rebels had held about 800 hostages for 58 hours, demanding an end to the Russian war in Chechnya.
Two other hostages were killed by the rebels who had threatened to blow up the building in the event of an attack and said they would execute hostages to get their demands met.
Washington is now carrying out the "necessary legal procedures for listing" the groups on the federal register, the official said. Until they are listed, the State Department says it will not release the names.
