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12 dead in gun battle amid Iraq jailbreak
Source: Agencies |
September 29, 2012, Saturday
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PRISONERS seized weapons and set off hours-long clashes with security guards at a prison in Saddam Hussein's hometown that left 12 dead, including 10 guards, before dozens of inmates managed to flee from the facility, Iraqi officials said yesterday.
The escaped prisoners included al-Qaida suspects, said a provincial spokesman, though he could not say whether the terror group was behind the jailbreak in Tikrit, 130 kilometers north of Baghdad.
The prison riot erupted on Thursday night, said Mohammed al-Assi, the spokesman for Salahuddin province of which Tikrit is the capital. Several inmates broke into the prison storeroom, grabbing weapons that were kept there and overpowering the guards, he said.
The prisoners then engaged in a long gun battle with security troops inside the facility before breaking out hours later. By yesterday morning, government troops had regained control of the prison, al-Assi said, and a curfew was imposed in Tikrit. "Everything is under control now. Our security forces are chasing the escaped prisoners and have already recaptured some."
A provincial health official, Raed Ibrahim, confirmed that 12 people died in the violence - 10 prison guards and two inmates. He said 32 people were wounded in the clashes at the prison.
Quickly recaptured
Qutaiba al-Jubouri, a lawmaker from the province, said a total of 81 inmates, including some who had been sentenced to death, managed to escape but that 36 of them were quickly recaptured.
"This is a regrettable security breach," said al-Jubouri, adding that an investigation will follow, "starting with the commanders of the security forces" at the prison.
He added that special forces were sent to Tikrit from Baghdad in order to put down the rioting. Security forces later dismantled three car bombs that were found parked near the prison.
The Tikrit prison has been the scene of some stunning jailbreaks in the past. In 2009, 16 prisoners, including five al-Qaida-linked inmates awaiting execution, escaped after plying open the bars on a prison bathroom window with a pipe wrench. At the time, the entire jail staff and the provincial prison official were held for questioning.
The escaped prisoners included al-Qaida suspects, said a provincial spokesman, though he could not say whether the terror group was behind the jailbreak in Tikrit, 130 kilometers north of Baghdad.
The prison riot erupted on Thursday night, said Mohammed al-Assi, the spokesman for Salahuddin province of which Tikrit is the capital. Several inmates broke into the prison storeroom, grabbing weapons that were kept there and overpowering the guards, he said.
The prisoners then engaged in a long gun battle with security troops inside the facility before breaking out hours later. By yesterday morning, government troops had regained control of the prison, al-Assi said, and a curfew was imposed in Tikrit. "Everything is under control now. Our security forces are chasing the escaped prisoners and have already recaptured some."
A provincial health official, Raed Ibrahim, confirmed that 12 people died in the violence - 10 prison guards and two inmates. He said 32 people were wounded in the clashes at the prison.
Quickly recaptured
Qutaiba al-Jubouri, a lawmaker from the province, said a total of 81 inmates, including some who had been sentenced to death, managed to escape but that 36 of them were quickly recaptured.
"This is a regrettable security breach," said al-Jubouri, adding that an investigation will follow, "starting with the commanders of the security forces" at the prison.
He added that special forces were sent to Tikrit from Baghdad in order to put down the rioting. Security forces later dismantled three car bombs that were found parked near the prison.
The Tikrit prison has been the scene of some stunning jailbreaks in the past. In 2009, 16 prisoners, including five al-Qaida-linked inmates awaiting execution, escaped after plying open the bars on a prison bathroom window with a pipe wrench. At the time, the entire jail staff and the provincial prison official were held for questioning.
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