31.   The airman was shot for carrying out raids on the town of Shali in which civilians were killed, the Chechen government spokesman Movladi Udugov told the agency.

32.   The amount was the Omani contribution to the fund for six months, a foreign ministry spokesman told the agency.

33.   The demands of the hostage-taker were not made public, police official Isabel Santos told the agency.

34.   The group attacked one officer, chopping his arm off with a machete, police told the agency.

35.   The other passengers were not gravely injured, the regional governor told the agency.