All were dressed in black combat fatigues complete with balaclavas. Most of the fighters were men, although a small number of women were also present.The carefully packed explosives entwined around the women's torsos would have been a familiar sight for Russian policemen, had there been any around; these women were "black widows" or suicide bombers, ready to die to persuade Russia to withdraw its forces from Chechnya. Inside sat 17boeviki, or fighters, some of them Ingush and others Chechen. School number one in Beslan, with its 900 pupils and 60 teachers, was no different and there was an almost carnival atmosphere as children made their way towards the main hall for a special inauguration ceremony.The truck's occupants kept quiet, steeling themselves for what they were about to do. The scores of proud parents accompanying their children to school didn't bat an eyelid; Russia's heavily militarised north Caucasus region is awash with military hardware and personnel. Besides which, yesterday was a special day, the first of the new academic year and the bright Caucasian sun was already beating down.Known as "knowledge day" in Russia, 1 September is traditionally a day of celebration when many over-excited children sporting new bags and books start at a new school.

It was shortly after eight o'clock yesterday morning when the non-descript green army truck drew up outside school number one in Beslan, North Ossetia, a far-flung republic in southern Russia. Russia's heavy-handed tactics have provided "people who are ready to blow themselves up", said Moscow analyst Yuri Korgunyuk.. With political discourse lacking, despair seems to be the driving force for the "black widows" of Chechnya to avenge their husbands' deaths. The latest attacks - which could presage more - may have been been timed to coincide with Sunday's election of a new pro-Moscow leader in Chechnya.But the farcical election of the weak and incompetent Alu Alkhanov is not a significant development in the lives of the desperate Chechen civilians, weary of war. Yet he has shown no sign of deviating from his plan to undermine support for the rebels by staging elections and a vague promise of some autonomy. But his spokesman in London, Akhmed Zakayev, has said that the plane bombings were not the work of their faction of Chechen rebels.The bottom line is that President Putin's strategy of military might, coupled with a forced 'stabilisation' is going nowhere. He may also have been behind the October 2002 Moscow siege in which the 41 Chechen hostage-takers and 129 captives were gassed to death.Yesterday's mass hostage-taking was reminiscent of the 1995 drama and could end as tragically if Russian troops move in.The once moderate Chechen leader, Aslan Maskhadov, is also in hiding and little is known of his influence over the guerrillas and his relationship with other factions.

But I think for Putin to suggest that this is al-Qa'ida-proper operating on their doorstep is overstating the case," said David Claridge, managing director of Janusian Security Risk Management in London.Moscow's biggest enemy in Chechnya is Shamil Basayev, the mastermind of the 1995 hostage-taking at a hospital in Budennovsk, in which 166 people died when the Russians stormed the building. But there again, experts were doubtful."I would not rule out that there was some component of al-Qa'ida support. In the circumstances we do not anticipate this matter will be taken any further by the police."Fallon, who leads the jockey championship and has won 17 races in the past fortnight, is no stranger to controversy. The hallmark of al-Qa'ida is their staging of spectacular multiple attacks.