offer to exchange hostage children for high-ranking Ossetian officials. Afternoon: Russian commandos ("Spetsnaz") arrive and take up positions around the school. 3:00 PM : The two female hostage-takers detonate themselves or are detonated by their leader. 4:40 PM: 12 children and one adult escape after hiding in nearby boiler room. Evening: Russian leaders call for an emergency session of the UN security council. 7:30 PM: Authorities establish contact with hostage-takers. 8:00 PM: Attackers tell a New York Times correspondent that they belong to a militant organization called Riyadh al-Salihin, led by Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev. 8:31 PM: Hostage-takers refused offer of shipment of water and medicine to hostages. 9:30 PM: Leonid Roshal arrives in Beslan and starts to negotiate with hostage-takers. 11:00 PM: Roshal negotiates for two hours with hostage-takers. He offers them safe departure to Ingushetia and Chechnya and to replace the hostage children with adults. Both offers are refused, as well as water and medicine. Negotiations end, no agreement is reached. Thursday September 2, 2004 Night: UN Security Council voted to condemn the hostage taking. Early morning: After negotiations throughout the night have failed to reach an agreement, the hostage takers decided to deny the already exhausted hostages all food or water. Morning: President Vladimir Putin postpones a state visit to Turkey. 10:00 AM: Ruslan Aushev enters school and negotiates face to face with terrorists. 10:00 AM: Roshal renews negotiations with hostage-takers. They are given guarantee of safe passage out of North Ossetia as well as large sums of money. Hostage-takers reject both offers. 11:00 AM: Putin addresses the nation for the first time since the crisis began, saying his main concern is the lives and health of the hostages. 12:00 PM: Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev and head of FSB Nikolai Patrushev arrive in Beslan to set up a crisis team. 12:40 PM: Ruslan Aushev fails to come to an agreement with the hostage-takers, but manage to convince them to release nursing babies and their mothers, 26 in all. 3:30 PM: Two rocket propelled grenades are fired by hostage-takers at the security forces outside the school. 8:00 PM: Officials revise their estimates of the number of hostages from around 350 to more than 1000. 9:00 PM: Ongoing negotiation with hostage-takers continue throughout the night to allow delivery of food and water and medicine to the hostages. Friday September 3, 2004 12:50 PM: Attackers agreed to let medical