ANKARA, Sept 5 (AFP) - A nine-year-old Turkish girl, whose mother had been forced by hostage takers to leave her in the school they took over in Beslan, southern Russia, died in the tragedy, the Turkish foreign ministry said on Sunday.
"We have learnt with deep regret that a Turkish citizen, Alana Dogan, lost her life in the hostage-taking," the ministry said in a statement.
Alana's father, a Turk who lives in the town of Beslan, told Turkish television his Russian wife and their two daughters had been among the 1,000 people taken captive when Chechen militants stormed the school on Wednesday, the first day back after the summer holidays.
The mother had been released on Thursday afternoon along with her youngest child, aged one, but she had been ordered to leave Alana behind, he said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul rang Alana's parents to offer his condolences, the ministry said in its statement, which again fiercely condemned the violent siege.
At least 338 captives are known to have died in the hostage crisis and the Russian security forces raid that ended it on Friday, along with an unknown number of militants. The toll was expected to rise further.