Russian prosecutors say 128 victims died in hostage crisis

MOSCOW -- Russian prosecutors said that 128 hostages died during last month's theater siege in Moscow by Chechen militants, eight more than previously revealed, Russian news agencies reported Thursday. In addition, 41 attackers were killed.

The Moscow city prosecutor's office published a list containing the names of 120 Russians and eight foreigners -- from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Austria, the United States and the Netherlands. It said that five of the victims had died of gunshot wounds, three more than reported before, the Interfax news agency said. Four of the bodies could not be identified for many days, prosecutors said.

Also Thursday, Moscow police said one of the Chechen gunmen killed in the raid was the organizer of an Oct. 19 car bombing outside a McDonald's restaurant that killed one person.

Prosecutors could not be reached for comment Thursday, a national holiday marking the 85th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Dozens of gunmen seized more than 800 hostages in a theater on Oct. 23 and threatened to blow up the building unless Russia ended the war in Chechnya. Special forces stormed the building on Oct. 26, and at least 118 people were killed by the opiate-based gas used to knock out the attackers.

Prosecutors say that 41 militants, 22 men and 19 women, were killed in the storming, and that none of the attackers managed to escape. Officials have argued that it was necessary to kill the hostage-takers in order to prevent them from detonating more than 100 pounds of explosives they had rigged in the theater.