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2nd LD Writethru: Over 350 inmates escape in Afghan prison break

Xinhua, September 14, 2015 Adjust font size:

Some 352 inmates, including dozens of Taliban members, escaped at early hours of Monday after militants attacked a provincial prison in Afghanistan 's eastern province of Ghazni, said an official.

"One militant rammed a car bomb to the main gate of the prison at around 2:00 a.m. local time. Shortly after the blast, six militants disguised in police uniform entered the jail, assisting the inmates to leave the complex. The ensuing clash lasted for two hours," Mohammad Ali Ahmadi, deputy provincial governor, told Xinhua.

The Interior Ministry also confirmed that 355 prisoners managed to escape the jail which is located in the southeastern part of provincial capital Ghazni city, 125 km south of Afghan capital Kabul.

"A total of 436 prisoners were imprisoned at Ghazni Prison from which 355 prisoners managed to escape after the group attacked the prison. Afghan National Police (ANP) launched a massive operation to arrest those who managed to escape. So far the three of them have been arrested by ANP ...148 prisoners who have escaped are charged with national and international security crimes and 207 are charged with other criminal crimes," the ministry said in a statement.

About four policemen were killed while seven others wounded by the attack, the statement said, adding that four attackers were also killed by ANP during the clashes.

Some 81 prisoners failed to leave the building as they were intercepted by the security forces, according to the statement.

"The Ministry of Interior Affairs designated a delegation of Police Inspectors to investigate Ghazni prison break incident," the statement added.

The Taliban militant group has claimed responsibility for the incident.

Zabiullah Mujahid, a purported Taliban spokesman, told local media that the militants set free 400 inmates, saying 10 insurgent fighters were involved in the attack and that three of them were killed during the clashes with security forces.

Prison breaks had also occurred in Afghanistan in the past, including a jail break in southern Kandahar province when hundreds of Taliban inmates escaped in 2011. Endi