Russia commission delays Beslan report again

MOSCOW, Sep 22 (Reuters) A Russian commission has again delayed an official report on the 2004 Beslan school siege in which 333 hostages died.

The parliamentary commission has been assessing how security officials performed during the bungled rescue operation when special forces stormed the school building. After several delays the commission's final report had been due today.

Last month a private report by a member of the commission suggested the storming had been triggered by two grenade launcher rounds fired by security forces.

''The report will definitely not be published today,'' said a spokeswoman for commission chairman Alexander Torshin.

More time was needed for the investigation, the spokeswoman said.

Chechen rebels seized more than 1,000 children and parents attending a ceremony in Beslan to mark the new school year in September 2004. Two days later 333 hostages died in the chaotic storming of the school. More than half were children.

According to leaks from official investigators, security forces stormed the school after the rebels blew up a bomb inside the school and most victims were killed in that blast.

Yuri Savelyev, a respected explosives expert and member of Torshin's commission, challenged that theory in a private report published on web site www.pravdabeslana.ru last month. The site's name means ''Truth about Beslan'' in Russian.

Savelyev said two grenade launcher rounds fired from a building controlled by security forces had triggered the storming and caused many of the deaths.

In an interview with Gazeta daily, Torshin said Savelyev's arguments were wrong although he said that at least part of Savelyev's report was identical to his commission's findings.

The Prosecutor General's office has launched an investigation into the arguments presented in Savelyev's report.

Earlier this month, the leader of the region of North Ossetia, where Beslan is situated, accused investigators of deliberately destroying evidence to cover up mistakes by senior security officials.

Last December Torshin presented interim findings of his commission which said negligence by local officials made the rebel raid possible.

But the most uncomfortable question facing the commission -- who was responsible for the deaths of the hostages -- remains unanswered.

Reuters SP GC1644