HOSTAGES WILL DIE AT DAWN; Theatre siege gunmen issue chilling warning.

GUNMEN holding hundreds hostage in a Moscow theatre last night vowed to start killing their captives at dawn today.

The chilling threat came on the second full day of the siege.

And it was claimed the terrorists have mined the theatre.

Pictures of the Chechen gang - brandishing machine guns and with explosives strapped around their waists - were broadcast on Arab TV station Al- Jazeera yesterday.

In the video, recorded on Wednesday, a man dressed all in black said: "I swear by God we are more keen on dying than you are keen on living.

"Each one of us is willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of God and the independence of Chechnya."

Two Britons are among the 600 to 800 civilians being held at gunpoint by around 50 Chechens.

They say they will only release the hostages if Russian troops withdraw from mainly Moslem Chechnya, where a bloody civil war has been raging for a decade.

The threat to kill their captives was revealed by a spokeswoman for the musical which was interrupted by the raiders on Wednesday night.

Daria Morganova said one of the actors being held in the theatre had told her of the threat. Russia's Federal Security Service said the threat came despite assurances that none of the gunmen would be killed if the prisoners were freed.

Friends and relatives have been keeping in touch with the hostages by mobile phones.

One prisoner told a friend the centre of the theatre and all the aisles had been mined.

Fifteen captives were freed yesterday but 75 foreign hostages remained in the building.

Eight children, including a Swiss girl, were set free, along with seven Russian adults who needed medical attention.

A Western diplomat said: "They do not want to release foreigners and they do not want to separate foreigners from the rest of the group. They are afraid that the release of foreigners would draw attention away from the crisis."

There were mixed reports of conditions inside the theatre, which is less than three miles from the Kremlin.

Hostage Anna Adrianova said: "We are safe and sound. It's warm and we have water."

But another captive said the situation was tense, they hadn't received food or water and the orchestra pit was being used as a toilet.

So far, one prisoner - a young Russian woman - has been shot dead.

Last night, five counter-terrorist experts arrived in Moscow to help British ambassador Sir Rod Lyne negotiate for the release of British hostages Richard and Sidica Low.

He has passed notes to the terrorists through Red Cross workers who have been allowed into the building.