Putin warns of Kremlin’s preventative action against terrorists

RUSSIAN president Vladimir Putin said yesterday the Kremlin was preparing to take preventative action against terrorists, even as a Chechen rebel leader purportedly claimed responsibility for a series of attacks that killed hundreds of people and threatened further violence.

Mr Putin’s comments were the highest-level warning yet that Russia could take some sort of pre-emptive action against terror groups in the wake of this month’s deadly school hostage-taking in Beslan.

Lower-level officials have threatened anti-terror strikes abroad, and it was not immediately clear whether Mr Putin was referring to actions only at home or outside Russia’s borders.