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Iraq jailbreaks: Hundreds escape in Taji and Abu Ghraib | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Hundreds of inmates have escaped from two Iraqi prisons after gunmen stormed two jails near Baghdad. | |
Fighting raged for several hours after the jails - Abu Ghraib to the west of the capital and Taji to the north - came under attack. | |
Mortar fire and suicide bombs were used to gain access to the jails. | |
At least 20 members of the security forces were killed as they struggled to regain control, eventually using military helicopters. | |
A senior Iraqi MP, Hakim Al-Zamili, said that about 500 prisoners had escaped from the notorious Abu Ghraib prison. | |
Most of them were senior members of al-Qaeda who had been sentenced to death, he told Reuters news agency. | |
"It's obviously a terrorist attack carried out by al-Qaeda to free convicted terrorists with al-Qaeda," the agency quoted an unnamed security official as saying. | |
Abu Ghraib was used to torture opponents of the regime during Saddam Hussein's rule, and its infamy increased in 2004 when photographs were published showing detainees being abused by US guards. | |
Mortar rounds | |
The prison attacks were launched at about 21:30 (18:30 GMT) on Sunday night. | The prison attacks were launched at about 21:30 (18:30 GMT) on Sunday night. |
Gunmen fired mortar rounds at the prisons, and then used car bombs at the entrances. | |
The situation was eventually brought back under control on Monday morning. | |
Iraqi authorities initially denied any prisoners had escaped in the attacks, but now acknowledge "some" prisoners have escaped. | |
Northern flashpoint | Northern flashpoint |
Elsewhere in Iraq, two attacks on security forces in the northern city of Mosul killed 33 people, officials said. | |
A man drove a vehicle packed with explosives up to a military convoy. | |
"A suicide bomber was following the convoy and when it stopped in the middle of road he detonated his vehicle right behind it," a policeman told Reuters news agency. | "A suicide bomber was following the convoy and when it stopped in the middle of road he detonated his vehicle right behind it," a policeman told Reuters news agency. |
A group of soldiers and at least two passers-by were among the dead, officials said. | A group of soldiers and at least two passers-by were among the dead, officials said. |
A second attack was launched on a group of policemen, several of whom were killed when gunmen stormed their checkpoint. | A second attack was launched on a group of policemen, several of whom were killed when gunmen stormed their checkpoint. |
Mosul, 360km (220 miles) north-west of Baghdad, is one of Iraq's major flashpoints. | Mosul, 360km (220 miles) north-west of Baghdad, is one of Iraq's major flashpoints. |
Insurgent groups such as al-Qaeda have found the city a fertile recruiting ground. | Insurgent groups such as al-Qaeda have found the city a fertile recruiting ground. |
It is the capital of the Sunni-dominated Nineveh province, and many Iraqi Sunnis resent the Shia-led government, correspondents say. | It is the capital of the Sunni-dominated Nineveh province, and many Iraqi Sunnis resent the Shia-led government, correspondents say. |
It is unclear who was behind the incidents, but there has been a recent escalation in violence across Iraq. | |
More than 200 people have been killed since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and 2,500 Iraqis have died in violent attacks since April, according to UN figures released this month. |