Controversial evidence in Kulayev case

Andrei Gagloyev, commander of the engineering troops of the 58th army, gave evidence at the Beslan attack case trial in the Supreme Court of North Ossetia earlier today.

Colonel Gagloyev had been concerned with tasks for ensuring the third blocking circle before the first explosion. During the onslaught, he was one of those who de-mined the school. Mr Gagloyev got to the school in 40 minutes after the first explosion. By that time, according to him, commandoes were in control of the gymnasium.

"We first helped to rescue the children running out. Then in about 40 minutes we heard commandoes saying that combat engineers were needed. So we went in and began to de-mine. There was a small fire on the roof by that time. The fire was sized one square meter. I had no orders to enter the school and de-mine. We went there on our own initiative," the witness said and he added that it was his group that asked the first civilians for help: "There were no civilians in the gymnasium at the moment. We called them, about 15. They really helped rescuing the hostages."

Mr Gagloyev was asked questions about tanks. The witness answered reluctantly, saying that the tanks had not been his responsibility, so he had not given orders. Yet he hinted that a grenade fragment could be enough to set fire to wooden floors or ceilings. Accordingly, fire could also be set by a tank shot. He gave assurances though that the tanks had fired when there had been no hostages in the school.

The victims several times asked the colonel about the possible cause of the first explosion. They wondered if the bomb could have exploded because the sticky tape had come off and the device had fallen down, a version that the prosecution adheres to. However, according to Mr Gagloyev, modern explosive devices cannot be triggered by hitting the floor, moreover, no explosion occurs even when a bullet hits such a device.

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