MOSCOW (AFP) - The Russian lower house of parliament will launch a broad anti-terror inquiry following the Beslan school siege which killed more than 330 people, State Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov said.
"We have taken the decision that it is indispensable to create a commission whose function would be to provide parliamentary oversight and conduct a parliamentary inquiry," he said.
The Federation Council upper house of parliament has already been tasked by President Vladimir Putin with investigating the circumstances of the three-day siege, near breakaway Chechnya, which ended in a bloodbath on September 3.
The new commission is expected to look at broader questions of how to improve anti-terrorist legislation in the wake of a series of recent attacks that killed more than 400 people.
"This commission should not only deal with the current situation but continue work on the issues which a working group has already been tackling since September 3," concerning anti-terrorist legislation, Gryzlov added.
Heavily-armed militants demanding independence for breakaway Chechnya seized 1,200 hostages in a school in southern Russia on September 1.
The siege culminated in a chaotic assault by special forces and armed civilians that was heavily criticized by Russian newspapers for the huge loss of life it resulted in.
Putin's government since has made the fight against terror a top priority, allocating more than five billion dollars next year in defence and security spending and announcing reforms to boost the Kremlin's powers.