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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Casablanca bomb convicts escape | Casablanca bomb convicts escape |
| (about 13 hours later) | |
| Nine people convicted of involvement with suicide bombings in Casablanca have escaped from a Moroccan prison, officials say. | Nine people convicted of involvement with suicide bombings in Casablanca have escaped from a Moroccan prison, officials say. |
| Prison authorities at Kenitra, 40km (25 miles) north of the capital, Rabat, noticed the escape on Monday morning, the justice ministry told state media. | |
| An interior ministry source told AFP news agency that the prisoners had tunnelled their way out. | An interior ministry source told AFP news agency that the prisoners had tunnelled their way out. |
| The 2003 attacks left 45 people dead, including 12 bombers, and many injured. | The 2003 attacks left 45 people dead, including 12 bombers, and many injured. |
| Most of the nine men were serving life sentences for involvement in the bombings, a group which supports Islamist prisoners said. | Most of the nine men were serving life sentences for involvement in the bombings, a group which supports Islamist prisoners said. |
| Message | Message |
| The men are reported to have escaped just after morning prayers on Monday. | The men are reported to have escaped just after morning prayers on Monday. |
| The escape took place as hundreds of Islamist convicts held a one-day hunger strike in prisons across Morocco in protest at their conditions. | |
| A source close to Islamist prisoners told the BBC the nine men had left a message on the wall of their jail. | A source close to Islamist prisoners told the BBC the nine men had left a message on the wall of their jail. |
| It said they had suffered injustice and were escaping because they saw no other solution to their woes, stressing that they had received no outside help for their prison break. | It said they had suffered injustice and were escaping because they saw no other solution to their woes, stressing that they had received no outside help for their prison break. |
| All possible measures were being taken to find the fugitives, the justice ministry said in a statement on state news agency MAP. | |
| Officials had been sent to the prison to investigate how the convicts had broken out, it said. | Officials had been sent to the prison to investigate how the convicts had broken out, it said. |
| In December 2007, drugs baron Mohammad Ouazzani escaped from the same jail. | In December 2007, drugs baron Mohammad Ouazzani escaped from the same jail. |
| Eight prison guards were subsequently convicted of helping him. | Eight prison guards were subsequently convicted of helping him. |