and saw groups of armed men walking along the aisles on both sides. >> the terrorists are filming amateur video, which shows women strapped with what they claim to be bombs, lining the theater aisles, waiting for the command to detonate. their leader, a notorious chechen terrorist commander, takes the stage. >> translator: boria behaves like a conquerer and announced from the stage that this was a siege and demand the war in chechnya come to an end. >> at the time, chechnya is fighting its second civil war to gain independence from russia. the terrorists are demanding that the russian government end its occupation of their homeland. if their demands are not met, he says he will level the theater with everyone inside. >> translator: i kept looking at this bomb and thinking, what if,