Russian regional authorities prevented Beslan-type attack against school

The head of a troubled region in southern Russia said that authorities had prevented a terror attack against a school.

"The terrorists were planning a school siege similar to the Beslan hostage crisis," Interfax quoted Mustafa Batdiyev, the president of the Karachayevo-Cherkessiya republic, as saying.

The attempted seizure of a school in the city of Karachayevsk occurred four months ago, the AP quoted Batdiyev as saying.

Interfax reported that the region's top police official, Nikolai Osyak, said some 150 Islamic extremists had been found in Karachayevo-Cherkessiya.