This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/15/world/asia/taliban-raid-ghazni-prison-afghanistan.html
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Taliban Raid Frees Hundreds of Inmates From Prison | Taliban Raid Frees Hundreds of Inmates From Prison |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban fighters raided the main prison in the southern province of Ghazni early on Monday, freeing hundreds of inmates after detonating explosives at the entrance and killing police guards, Afghan officials said. | KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban fighters raided the main prison in the southern province of Ghazni early on Monday, freeing hundreds of inmates after detonating explosives at the entrance and killing police guards, Afghan officials said. |
| Sediq Sediqqi, the spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Interior, said the attack began at 2 a.m., when the insurgents set off a car bomb, then killed four of the prison guards and wounded seven others in a shootout. The prison was being guarded by 48 police officers at the time of the attack, a member of the provincial council in Ghazni said. | |
| “There were 436 prisoners in the jail; 351 of them escaped,” Mr. Sediqqi said. Of those who fled, 148 were Taliban prisoners, whom Mr. Sediqqi described as “terrorists on charges of national security crimes.” | “There were 436 prisoners in the jail; 351 of them escaped,” Mr. Sediqqi said. Of those who fled, 148 were Taliban prisoners, whom Mr. Sediqqi described as “terrorists on charges of national security crimes.” |
| Mr. Sediqqi said that 18 senior Taliban members in the prison had been moved to Kabul a day before the attack. | Mr. Sediqqi said that 18 senior Taliban members in the prison had been moved to Kabul a day before the attack. |
| Nasir Ahmad Faqiri, a member of the provincial council, said that there had been indications that day that the Taliban were preparing to attack. The Afghan intelligence service was trying to move 20 senior Taliban prisoners to Kabul, but they protested and wanted more time in Ghazni. | Nasir Ahmad Faqiri, a member of the provincial council, said that there had been indications that day that the Taliban were preparing to attack. The Afghan intelligence service was trying to move 20 senior Taliban prisoners to Kabul, but they protested and wanted more time in Ghazni. |
| Mr. Faqiri was part of a delegation that visited the prison to sort out the issue. He said that intelligence officials found weapons made from window cages and door pieces on the inmates. | Mr. Faqiri was part of a delegation that visited the prison to sort out the issue. He said that intelligence officials found weapons made from window cages and door pieces on the inmates. |
| “The prison does not meet even 10 percent of standard — it is soft, old and built of mud,” Mr. Faqiri said. | “The prison does not meet even 10 percent of standard — it is soft, old and built of mud,” Mr. Faqiri said. |
| Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said three of their fighters were killed in the “coordinated attack,” which lasted several hours. | Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said three of their fighters were killed in the “coordinated attack,” which lasted several hours. |
| It is not the first time that the Taliban have set large numbers of their fighters free in daring jailbreaks. In 2008, insurgents drove two trucks filled with explosives into Sarposa Prison in the city of Kandahar, killed 15 prison guards and released 1,200 inmates. Three years later, nearly 500 Taliban fighters were freed from the same prison, through a tunnel dug over more than five months and equipped with electricity and air pipes. |