MOSCOW -- Chechnya's leading rebel warlord claimed responsibility yesterday for the hostage siege at a Moscow theatre while Russian legislators moved to curb news coverage of antiterrorist operations, including the war in Chechnya.

Warlord Shamil Basayev said in a statement carried by the main Chechen rebel Web site Kavkaz-Tsentr that his group was behind the theatre raid and promised that future attacks would be even more destructive.

"The next time, those who come won't make any demands, won't take hostages," Mr. Basayev said on the Chechen Web site. Their "main goal will be destroying the enemy and exacting maximum damage."

The authenticity of the statement could not be confirmed.

Mr. Basayev said the attack was planned without the knowledge of the breakaway republic's elected leader, Aslan Maskhadov. He asked Mr. Maskhadov's forgiveness for preparing the raid in secret and said he would resign from all posts in the rebel hierarchy.

Kremlin officials, who have said Mr. Maskhadov was a chief organizer of the hostage attack, called Mr. Basayev's statement a smoke screen designed to divert attention from the Chechen rebel leader.

"Basayev is trying to shield Maskhadov from blame, to save him for further political games," Kremlin spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky told the Itar-Tass news agency.

Russia is demanding the extradition of one of Mr. Mashkhadov's envoys, Akhmed Zakayev, from Denmark where he was arrested at Moscow's request after a conference on Chechnya on Wednesday.

But Danish Justice Minister Lene Espersen announced yesterday that she had yet to receive enough evidence to warrant extradition and warned that Mr. Zakayev would be freed if the request wasn't backed up by Nov. 30.

Mr. Basayev also criticized the world community for denouncing the hostage-takers but failing to express sufficient concern about the "innocent victims of the bloody war in Chechnya."

Russia's lower house of parliament, meanwhile, approved amendments to the country's media law that would put severe restrictions on press coverage of "counterterrorist operations," which would include the war in Chechnya and the special-forces raid that rescued hundreds of hostages but led to at least 119 deaths.

Members of the State Duma voted to prohibit the news media from distributing information that reveals security tactics or provides information about people involved in them.

Press watchdog groups said the changes in the media law would have a chilling effect on debate.

About 155 former hostages, including four children, remained in hospital yesterday, the Interfax news agency reported. It said 496 former hostages had been discharged from hospitals.