Hundreds of prisoners in Afghanistan free after jail attack
Saturday, 14 Jun 2008 10:12
The attack took place at a jail in the city of Kandahar
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Hundreds of prisoners, including Taliban militants, have escaped from a jail in the rebel group's former stronghold after an attack on the prison's gate.
A suicide bomber rammed a car into the main entry point of the Kandahar jail which holds close to 1,000 prisoners. Armed gunmen then entered the complex and tried to free prisoners.
A total of 15 security personnel guarding the jail died in the attack. Figures of the exact number of escapees are yet to be confirmed.
Deputy justice minister Mohammad Qasim Hashimzai told the Reuters news agency that up to 400 people at the prison had been held over their ties to the Taliban.
He said: "It was a very unprecedented attack and together with foreign forces, an operation has been launched to track down and arrest the prisoners."
Mr Hashimzai added that officials were investigating the circumstances of the attack and looking into the possibility that the militants who stormed the complex may have been assisted by officials.
A Taliban spokesperson has claimed responsibility for the raid and stated that many members of the group, which was ousted from power after the US invasion of the country in 2001, had been freed.