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Pakistan jailbreak: Taliban free 243 in Dera Ismail Khan Pakistan jailbreak: Taliban free 248 in Dera Ismail Khan
(about 1 hour later)
Taliban militants have freed 243 prisoners in an assault on a prison in north-west Pakistan, officials say. Taliban militants have freed 248 prisoners in an assault on a prison in north-west Pakistan, officials say.
Militants armed with automatic weapons, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and bombs blasted down the walls of the jail in the town of Dera Ismail Khan and streamed inside, reports said.
An hours-long gun battle followed into the early hours of Tuesday morning. At least 13 died, including six police.
Correspondents say it is a huge embarrassment for authorities.
The attack was similar to an assault on a prison in nearby Bannu in April last year, in which almost 400 prisoners were freed.
Reports also suggest intelligence had warned of an impending attempt on the jail two weeks ago.
This latest assault demonstrates the weakness of the Pakistani state, says the BBC's Shahzeb Jillani in Karachi.
The state appears not to have the capacity, and some would say the will, to rein in hardened militants, he says.
Police uniforms
The attack in the town of Dera Ismail Khan began with huge explosions at around midnight on Monday (15:00 GMT).The attack in the town of Dera Ismail Khan began with huge explosions at around midnight on Monday (15:00 GMT).
Gunmen then opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades and machine-guns, police chief Sohail Khalid said. About 70 attackers were in police uniform. Up to 100 attackers, some wearing police uniforms, bombarded the prison with rockets and mortars before going inside.
The town is in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, next to Pakistan's restive mountainous tribal region. The town's civil commissioner, Mushtaq Jadoon, said attackers used loudhailers to call the names of particular inmates.
The town's prison houses hundreds of Taliban and militants from banned groups. An ensuing gun battle raged for three or four hours.
Twelve people - including six police officers - were killed in the gun battle that raged for three or four hours after militants launched their assault.
The town's civil commissioner Mushtaq Jadoon said that 30 hardened militants jailed for their involvement in major attacks or suicide bombings were among those who escaped.
Those released include two local Taliban commanders, Abdul Hakim and Haji Ilyas, reports BBC Urdu's Ahmed Wali.
Also released is a sectarian militant, Waleed Akbar, the principle suspect in last year's attacks on Shia mourners in Dera Ismail Khan during the Shia mourning month of Moharram.
Attackers used loudhailers to call the names of particular inmates, Mr Jadoon said.
Fourteen fugitives were later re-arrested by police, he said. A curfew has now been imposed on Dera Ismail Khan as police hunt for the remaining escaped prisoners, but correspondents say this will be a difficult task as they flee into tribal areas.
Katherine Houreld, a correspondent for Reuters news agency, told the BBC it had been a "very sophisticated attack - they blew the electricity line, they breached the walls and they set ambushes for reinforcements".Katherine Houreld, a correspondent for Reuters news agency, told the BBC it had been a "very sophisticated attack - they blew the electricity line, they breached the walls and they set ambushes for reinforcements".
Mr Jadoon told a local TV station that 14 explosive devices planted in the jail had so far been defused. The town's prison is a century old and is said not to have been designed for high-security inmates, but houses hundreds of Taliban fighters and militants from other banned groups.
Mr Jadoon said 30 "hardened militants", who had been jailed for their involvement in major attacks or suicide bombings, were among those freed.
He was also quoted as saying that militants had taken away six women, five of them inmates and the other a police officer.
An unnamed official told AFP news agency that jail records and an office had also been torched.
The town is in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, next to Pakistan's mountainous tribal region.
Among the inmates freed were two local Taliban commanders, Abdul Hakim and Haji Ilyas.
Also released is a sectarian militant, Waleed Akbar, the principle suspect in last year's attacks on Shia mourners in Dera Ismail Khan during the Shia mourning month of Moharram.
Fourteen fugitives were later re-arrested by police, Mr Jadoon said.
A curfew has now been imposed on Dera Ismail Khan as police hunt for the remaining escaped prisoners, but correspondents say this will be a difficult task as they flee into tribal areas.
Mr Jadoon told a local TV station that militants had booby-trapped the building with explosive devices, which had now been defused.
Attack 'threats'Attack 'threats'
A local resident told the agency that the initial blast was so loud that "it rattled every house in the neighbourhood".A local resident told the agency that the initial blast was so loud that "it rattled every house in the neighbourhood".
The attackers were chanting "God is great" and "Long live the Taliban", officials said.The attackers were chanting "God is great" and "Long live the Taliban", officials said.
Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid has claimed responsibility for the attack. He said around 300 prisoners had been freed. Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said his group carried out the attack. He said about 300 prisoners had been freed.
The authorities are reported to have received intelligence about an impending attack two weeks ago, but prison officials said they did not expect it to come so soon.The authorities are reported to have received intelligence about an impending attack two weeks ago, but prison officials said they did not expect it to come so soon.
The building is about a century old and officials say it was not constructed to house high-security prisoners. A Taliban spokesman said one of their commanders freed in an assault on a prison in Bannu in northern Pakistan in April last year played a key role in the latest jailbreak.
Hundreds of inmates were freed in an assault on a prison in Bannu in northern Pakistan in April last year.
Correspondents say the authorities will face questions about how militants were able to stage a virtually identical attack in Dera Ismail Khan.Correspondents say the authorities will face questions about how militants were able to stage a virtually identical attack in Dera Ismail Khan.
The attack appears to be part of a Taliban strategy to break jails instead of negotiating prisoner releases with government, the BBC's Ilyas Khan reports from Islamabad.
Last month, police claimed they arrested some Taliban operatives who were planning to attack a jail in the southern port city of Karachi, our correspondent adds.
Monday night's violence came hours before Pakistani politicians were to choose the country's new president.Monday night's violence came hours before Pakistani politicians were to choose the country's new president.
The replacement for Asif Ali Zardari is being elected by the members of both houses of parliament and the four provincial assemblies.The replacement for Asif Ali Zardari is being elected by the members of both houses of parliament and the four provincial assemblies.
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