WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- US President George W. Bush onSunday paid an unexpected visit to the Russian embassy to express condolences over the hostage crisis which resulted in the deaths of 334 people in the southern Russian town of Beslan.

    "I am here to express my country's heartfelt sympathies for thevictims and the families who suffered at the hands of the evil terrorists," Bush told reporters after signing on a book of condolences.

    "The atrocities that took place in the school were beyond comprehension," Bush said, adding that the United States stood "shoulder to shoulder" with Russia in the war on terrorism.

    "The killers once again remind us of the duties we have as freepeople to work in concert, to work in unity, to make this world a better place," Bush said.

    On Sept. 1, more than 30 armed militants took about 1,200 people hostage in a secondary school in Beslan. The crisis ended on the third day after a fierce exchange of gunfire, but left at least 334 people dead -- half of them children.

    Bush has condemned the hostage-taking act and said this was "another grim reminder of the length to which terrorists will go tothreaten this civilized world." Enditem