From MosNews, “Chechen Rebels Planned “Second Beslan” – Prosecutor,” .
Four Chechen rebels, detained in April 2005, planned to carry out a Beslan-style terrorist attack at a village in the republic of Ingushetia, Russian Deputy Prosecutor General Nikolai Shepel was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying.
A reserve group of 11 guerillas, led by warlord Aslanbeck Hatuev, would have seized a school in the republic neighboring North Ossetia on Sept. 1, 2004 if anything had gone wrong in Beslan. Like the Beslan hostage-takers, they were also trained by the Arabian mercenary Abu Dzeit who had worked out the plan of the seizure. He was killed in February 2005 by Russian special forces.
The group included fewer people than Beslan one because the village of Nesterovskaya, chosen by the rebels, is smaller. One of the four arrested rebels, Rezvan Hodzhiev had to work as a guide for the others, as he had studied in the school and knew its layout. The same role was played by Beslan hostage-taker Vladimir Hodov. Nikolai Shepel also reported that the investigation has already determined the names of some of the other members of the group.
After the terrorists” leader realized that the Beslan seizure had been “successful”, the deputy prosecutor explained, he told the second group to halt preparations.…
During the hostage-taking and the siege in September of last year 330 people, including 180 children, were killed in Beslan.