More than 400 prisoners escaped early Monday from a jail in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for facilitating the escape and said 541 prisoners fled. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said the number was closer to 470.
Waheed Omer, a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, called the mass prisoner escape "bad news and a disaster."
It was the second mass escape from the prison.
In June 2008, up to 1,000 prisoners -- almost half of them Taliban members -- escaped after militants detonated a large truck bomb against the side of the compound.
Police have launched a wide operation for Monday's escapees and have recaptured eight, the Kandahar governor's office said
Taliban members spent five months digging a tunnel that stretched nearly 1,050 feet (320 meters) to the prison, said Zabiullah Mujahed, a Taliban spokesman. The escape took place over four and a half-hours, Mujahed said.
"We are aware of reports that a tunnel was involved," NATO said in a statement.
Kandahar is the birthplace of the Taliban and has been site of fierce fighting between international forces and insurgents.
It has been the site of numerous anti-Western demonstrations, recently over the burning of the Quran by a pastor in the United States.
On April 15, the police chief of Kandahar province was killed when a man wearing a military uniform detonated a bomb at the entrance to the police headquarters.
In February, 10 people died when mines exploded at a playground during a picnic hosted by a former police commander. In a seperate incident, 19 people, including 15 police officers, died when armed attackers targeted police headquarters.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for facilitating the escape and said 541 prisoners fled. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said the number was closer to 470.
Waheed Omer, a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, called the mass prisoner escape "bad news and a disaster."
It was the second mass escape from the prison.
In June 2008, up to 1,000 prisoners -- almost half of them Taliban members -- escaped after militants detonated a large truck bomb against the side of the compound.
Police have launched a wide operation for Monday's escapees and have recaptured eight, the Kandahar governor's office said
Taliban members spent five months digging a tunnel that stretched nearly 1,050 feet (320 meters) to the prison, said Zabiullah Mujahed, a Taliban spokesman. The escape took place over four and a half-hours, Mujahed said.
"We are aware of reports that a tunnel was involved," NATO said in a statement.
Kandahar is the birthplace of the Taliban and has been site of fierce fighting between international forces and insurgents.
It has been the site of numerous anti-Western demonstrations, recently over the burning of the Quran by a pastor in the United States.
On April 15, the police chief of Kandahar province was killed when a man wearing a military uniform detonated a bomb at the entrance to the police headquarters.
In February, 10 people died when mines exploded at a playground during a picnic hosted by a former police commander. In a seperate incident, 19 people, including 15 police officers, died when armed attackers targeted police headquarters.
No comments:
Post a Comment