It seems like they tried to storm it and things went bad, or was turned into a photo op, as in Waco, but the media slideshow makes it out to be that the soldiers are simply saving the children. Also, I was surprised at how emaciated the children look, in general.

Oh, here we go:

"It began after militants had agreed to let Russia retrieve the bodies of people killed early in the raid. Explosions went off as the emergency personnel went to get the bodies at around 1 p.m., collapsing part of the roof of the building, and hostages took the noise as a signal to flee, officials said."

Question is, who set off the explosions?

"The militants had reportedly threatened to blow up the building if authorities tried to storm it, but all indications suggested the explosions began before the assault. Russian officials repeatedly said they were not planning to invade and had earlier won the release of 26 hostages through negotiations."