Gunmen storm Iraq jail, 140 freed
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Gunmen storm Iraq jail, 140 freed*
From correspondents in Mosul
March 07, 2007 05:46am
Article from: Agence France-Presse
SUSPECTED al-Qaeda gunmen stormed a troubled Iraqi jail overnight and
freed at least 140 prisoners.
Hasham al-Hamadani, chairman of Nineveh province's security council,
said fighters loyal to al-Qaeda kingpin Omar al-Baghdadi had infiltrated
the area around the northern city of Mosul and masterminded the jailbreak.
Foreign Arab extremist fighters were among the prisoners freed in the
attack on Badush prison, an Iraqi government facility outside the city,
he said.
Mr Hamadani said his committee had received intelligence that the jail
break was the first in a series of planned attacks and that he feared
al-Qaeda fighters were armed with toxic dirty bombs.
"They attacked the prison today with a large number of insurgents armed
with light and medium weapons, like machine guns. They didn't face much
resistance from the guards, because they overwhelmed them," he said.
"They were driving Opel sedans and pick ups," he said. "They entered the
jail and freed between 140 and 150 prisoners, including Arabs and
foreign fighters. A US helicopter arrived and opened fire, killing five
escapees.
"The prison is now under control again, since American forces arrived."
A local security official and state television confirmed the escape.
At the start of the year Badush jail was holding 1200 of the most
dangerous prisoners in Iraq, including 100 foreign fighters, when its
new director, Lieutenant Colonel Ali Mahmud, took over following a scandal.
The prison's former director was arrested in December after defunct
dictator Saddam Hussein's nephew Ayman Ibrahim al-Hassan escaped.