A gang of gunmen, estimated at between 17 and 40 men and women allegedly wearing explosive belts, raided a secondary school in the North Ossetian town of Beslan on Wednesday morning, the first day of the new school term. Reports differ on the number of hostages held in the school, but most witnesses put the number at about 1,000, including hundreds of children.

Wednesday, Sept. 1

• Gunmen herd hostages into school gymnasium. Security officials attempt to negotiate, but militants threaten to kill 50 children for every fighter killed.
• Within hours nearly 50 children manage to escape. Terrorists set free 15 more.
• Identity of hostage-takers not known. Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov denies involvement by forces loyal to him.
• Leonid Roshal, a pediatrician experienced in hostage conflicts, is called in to negotiate at the request of the gunmen.
• UN Security Council issues the strongest condemnation and demands the immediate release of hostages.

Thursday, Sept. 2

• In his first televised remarks since the crisis, Russian President Vladimir Putin says, "Our main task is to save the life and health of those who have ended up as hostages. All the actions of our forces, who are dealing with freeing the hostages, will be devoted to solving the task."
• After a night of on and off again negotiations per telephone, the captors release 26 women and children.
• Throughout the day, several explosions and gunshots are heard coming from inside the school.
• Negotiators report that the gunmen have denied food, water and medical supplies to the hostages.
• Thousands of worried family members gather in the streets surrounding the security zone around the school and wait anxiously for information.

Friday, Sept. 3

• Reports emerge that the initial number of hostages said to be held inside the school was far too low. Accounts from the women released on Thursday point to figures nearly three times higher than those given by officials.
• Leonid Roshal tells reporters, "the situation is serious. We have come up against very cruel people." Speaking to family members, he stresses the need for maintaining calm. Militants' demands are not known, nor is their identity certain.
• Early in the morning, international journalists report being prevented from approaching the cordoned-off security zone and that the perimeter has been widened. Rumors begin circulating that the Russian government is planning a raid.

Mid-morning Friday

• At 11:00 CET a series of gunshots and explosions went off. Interfax newswire reported 30 children and women escaping the school. Witnesses report the roof of the gymnasium caving in. Helicopters begin circling overhead. The captors begin firing off rounds at people escaping and the surrounding buildings. After a particularly loud detonation which shook the building, Itar-TASS wires reported a large group of children fleeing the school.
• Reports are confirmed: special Russian security forces have stormed the building in an attempt to rescue the hostages, according to the Duma parliamentarian Dmitri Rogosin speaking in the radio program "Echo Moskwy".
• The gunmen allegedly attempt to flee with the hostages as chaos breaks out. Exact information is sketchy as journalists are kept far from the scene and a thick cloud of smoke surrounds the school.
• TASS wire service confirms that Russian soldiers are shooting at fleeing militants. Children, many wearing nothing but their underwear, continue running out of the school into the arms of waiting troops. Several are carried off to ambulances with visible injuries.
• Russian media report that several terrorists have fled to surrounding residential areas, possibly taking hostages with them.

Noon Friday

• By 12:00 CET, Russian security officials are claiming the situation is completely under control, although the media continues to report gunfire. The troops are said to have blasted a hole in the school gymnasium in order to allow the hostages to flee quickly.
• Interfax quotes a local official who says, "the majority of children have survived." Witnesses and foreign camera crews report having seen bodies carried out on stretchers. Hostage-takers allegedly opened fire on fleeing children before the authorities could gain the upper hand.
• Thirty minutes after the security troops take control of the school, Russian police admit to searching for escaped terrorists in the surrounding neighborhood. Witnesses say the captors may have disguised themselves in the civilian clothes of their hostages and be hiding out in local homes.

Afternoon Friday

• The Interfax news agency reports some 400 people have been injured including hostages and local residents.
• Dozens were allegedly killed when the school's roof collapsed during the military raid.
• A cameraman for British ITV news said that up to 100 bodies were strewn across the floor in the gymnasium.
• Local Federal Security Services says the military raid was not planned, according to Interfax sources.