All the hundreds of hostages detained by Chechen rebels were freed Saturday when Russian special forces stormed a Moscow theatre and killed many rebels and detained others.
Hostage-takers' chief Movsar Barayev was also killed, Interfax reported.
About 10 hostages had been killed, according to the news agency.
The hostage rescue operation is over, while explosives set in the building found and defused, said officials from the emergency center of the hostage rescue.
Earlier, Pavel Kudryavtsev, an official from the emergency center said Russian forces had taken control of the theatre and killed the commander of a group of around 40 gunmen who seized the theatre and had beenholding hundreds of hostages since Wednesday.
Gunman holding hundreds of hostages in the theatre have shot dead two more of the captives early on Saturday.
(Xinhua News Agency October 26, 2002)
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