Moscow hostage taker killed

Russian commandos early today killed a hostage-taker who had last night seized a Swedish embassy employee in Moscow and demanded a $3m ransom, witnesses said. A Russian negotiator who replaced the Swede in his car in the embassy grounds was badly wounded and was taken to the nearest hospital, police said. The culmination of a drama lasting for more than six hours came after 1am Moscow time. Many details were still unclear.

Reuters, Moscow