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25 Prisoners Flee Baghdad Jail 25 Prisoners Flee Baghdad Jail
(about 5 hours later)
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Twenty-five suspects held on terrorism charges, some facing the death penalty, escaped early Friday from a prison north of Baghdad where Saddam Hussein had been hanged, killing two guards and raising the question of whether they had received inside help, security officials said. BAGHDAD — Twenty-five suspects held on terrorism charges, some facing the death penalty, escaped early Friday from a prison north of Baghdad, killing two guards and raising the question of whether they had received inside help, security officials said. The prison is where Saddam Hussein was hanged in 2006.
The escape came a few weeks short of the seventh anniversary of Mr. Hussein’s execution on the gallows of the prison, a former headquarters of his Istikhbarat military intelligence agency, which has since been renamed Al Adala, meaning justice. In another sign of the escalating violence crippling the country, 16 Iranians working on a gas pipeline and three Iraqis were killed by gunmen in S.U.V.s who surrounded their bus on Friday and opened fire in Khanaqin in Diyala Province, north of Baghdad, according to police and medical sources.
Among the Iranians killed were engineers and construction workers; the bus driver and an escort were two of the Iraqis killed. Four Iranian workers survived and were taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds. The pipeline runs between Iraq and Iran.
The prison escape came a few weeks short of the seventh anniversary of Mr. Hussein’s execution. The prison, a former headquarters of his Istikhbarat military intelligence agency, has since been renamed Al Adala, meaning justice.
It was at least the third publicly reported mass prison break in Iraq since the fall of 2012. It also underscored the decline of the country’s security and the increase in deadly sectarian violence since the departure of American forces at the end of 2011 following the eight-year-long war that deposed Mr. Hussein.It was at least the third publicly reported mass prison break in Iraq since the fall of 2012. It also underscored the decline of the country’s security and the increase in deadly sectarian violence since the departure of American forces at the end of 2011 following the eight-year-long war that deposed Mr. Hussein.
The most spectacular prison break happened on Sept. 27, 2012, from a prison in Tikrit, Mr. Hussein’s hometown, in which more than 100 felons, nearly half of them linked to Al Qaeda, escaped, prompting an intense manhunt. At least 17 detainees broke out of a prison in the city of Kirkuk on March 23, 2012. Iraq’s most spectacular prison break happened on Sept. 27, 2012, from a prison in Tikrit, Mr. Hussein’s hometown, in which more than 100 felons, nearly half of them linked to Al Qaeda, escaped, prompting an intense manhunt. At least 17 detainees broke out of a prison in the city of Kirkuk on March 23, 2012.
Security forces trying to recapture the escapees in the Friday prison break had hunted down 11 of them later in the day.Security forces trying to recapture the escapees in the Friday prison break had hunted down 11 of them later in the day.
The prisoners broke out around 3:30 a.m., according to a police official who said some gates had been broken open while others appeared to have been unlocked. The official spoke in return for anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the episode with reporters.The prisoners broke out around 3:30 a.m., according to a police official who said some gates had been broken open while others appeared to have been unlocked. The official spoke in return for anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the episode with reporters.
Security forces arrested all the guards who had been on duty at the time to determine whether they had helped prisoners escape. Several are still under investigation, the police official said.Security forces arrested all the guards who had been on duty at the time to determine whether they had helped prisoners escape. Several are still under investigation, the police official said.
The prison was one of the main centers for interrogation and torture during Mr. Hussein’s era.The prison was one of the main centers for interrogation and torture during Mr. Hussein’s era.
In other attacks on Friday, a car bombing in a public market in Madaen, a Sunni-majority city southeast of Baghdad, killed six people and wounded 15 others, and in the nearby suburb of Nahrawan, another car bombing killed four and wounded 12, according to the police.

Rick Gladstone contributed reporting from New York.

Rick Gladstone contributed reporting from New York.