Nor is much known about how they got to Beslan in the first place.

ECONOMIST: Beslan and after

Another Russian daily, Novyye Izvestiya , describes the Algerian hostage crisis as the biggest since the 2004 "Beslan tragedy".

BBC: Press links Algerian crisis with Mali operation

Mr Mamsurov was born in Beslan and was 50 when he became leader.

BBC: North Ossetia profile

Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, was heavily criticised for his slow reaction to the Beslan siege and for the botched storming of the school, where 331 people died, half of them children.

ECONOMIST: Caucasian dominoes | The