Chechen Warlord Basayev "not Worthy Of Existence": Armitage

WARSAW (AFP) - Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, who has claimed responsibility for the deadly Beslan school hostage crisis in Russia, "is not worthy of existence," US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said during a visit to Poland.

"Anyone who would use innocence for political aims is not worthy of existence in the type of societies we enjoy," Armitage said Friday.

A text signed by Basayev and posted on the rebel website kavkazcenter.com on Friday said members of his group "carried out a series of successful military operations," including "the operation in the town of Beslan."

Over 330 people died, around half of them children, as a result of the hostage-taking at a school in Beslan, in the southern Russian republic of North Ossetia early this month.