The shock and grief of the residents of Beslan was in clear evidence on Sunday at the funeral of Alina Khubechova, who celebrated her 11th birthday the day before the rebels -- some with bombs strapped to them -- took more than 1,000 hostages at the school.

Her parents grasped a picture of the pretty brown-haired girl with white ribbons in her hair as she was buried in a soccer-field sized patch of wasteland cleared for graves.

"Beslan is such a small town," said one mourner, who gave her name only as Zoya. "What did we do to deserve all this?" Nothing! They are ALL victims of exceeding wicked Viciousness.

At other funerals in the town in North Ossetia, bordering Chechnya, a distraught mother had to be helped to her feet by men, a trumpeter played with tears streaming down his face and mourners carrying flowers hugged each other for comfort.

Ambulances that on Friday were rushing the wounded to hospital were put on standby at the funerals to help relatives overcome with grief.

Relatives of those buried left front doors and windows open as part of a local custom.

PARDON PLEA

"I want to beg your pardon for failing to protect children, teachers and parents," Alexander Dzasokhov, president of North Ossetia province, said with tears in his eyes when he visited wounded children in hospital.

The province's interior minister, Kazbek Dzantiyev, went even further and submitted his resignation over last week's hostage crisis that ended in a bloody battle between the rebels and Russian troops. The resignation was rejected.

The grief at Sunday's funerals and the remorse of officials underlined the scale of the bloodshed, which has thrown President Vladimir Putin's policy in the turbulent Caucasus region into disarray.

In just over two weeks, separatists -- who have waged a 10-year armed uprising in Chechnya -- have also been blamed for bringing down two airliners, killing 90 people, and a suicide bombing in which nine people were killed in central Moscow.

This has prompted serious questioning about whether Putin can deliver on a pledge he made on coming to power in 2000 to restore order in Chechnya.

Official accounts of the bloodiest hostage crisis in decades say Russian forces stormed the school after the rebels [Muslims] started firing on children fleeing in panic from two explosions.

Jam 3:12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.

The Koran preaches bloodshed against the "Unbelievers"  praising the Muslims who fight - above the ones who do not} 004.095.  The Koran does not preach peace...Islamic 'terrorists' are the proof.

Mat 12:33 For the tree is known by his fruit.

SOME PEOPLE UNACCOUNTED FOR

North Ossetian spokesman Lev Dzugayev said 428 people remained in local hospitals and 260 were unaccounted for.

A number of seriously wounded people were taken to Moscow and other cities for treatment.

While some Beslan residents were burying loved ones, others searched for missing relatives, touring local hospitals in hope and morgues in trepidation.

Orthodox churches across Russia held memorial services and Putin has declared Monday and Tuesday days of national mourning.

Russian television showed footage of an unshaven and heavily guarded man, described by a top prosecutor as a member of the Chechen rebel group behind the hostage-taking.

Russian officials initially spoke of a 32-member group including Chechen separatists and 10 Arab fighters and said three of the hostage-takers had been captured alive. But later they said all the hostage-takers were killed and three suspected accomplices had been detained.

State-controlled First Channel television showed the man being escorted in handcuffs into a room by masked commandos.

"This man directly took part in the attack, he is a member of the gang," said Deputy Prosecutor General Sergei Fridinsky. "Tomorrow the court will sanction his arrest and he will be charged."

DIRTY BLACK SHIRT

The man, dressed in dirty black shirt, looked and spoke like a native of one of Russia's North Caucasus regions, which include Chechnya and North Ossetia.

"I did not shoot. I swear by Allah I did not shoot," said the man, who looked scared. "I swear by Allah I want to live."

Mat 12:33 The tree is known by his fruit. [no fountain both yield salt water and fresh]

Muslims who claim that they are not aloud to slay others, are telling a different story {SEE - than their Koran does.

Putin, a former KGB spy, said on Saturday Russian forces needed to rethink their approach to tackling such emergencies.

Questions have persisted about the storming of the school and how the rebels managed to transport huge quantities of explosives and ammunition into the building.

Soslan Bidoyev, 23, was shocked by his brother's account of events at the school when it was seized last Wednesday.

"He told us that when the hostages were brought in, the gunmen made the adults pry open the gymnasium floor. They took out supplies of weapons from underneath the floor," he said.

Such accounts strengthened views that the rebels were well prepared and had local help, and fuelled the anger of residents who accused Putin of making only a token visit to the town on Saturday and of failing in his duty to protect them.

2Cr 10:4 The weapons [Scriptures] of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.

Mat 18:7 Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!

Deu 18:20 The prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.