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Afghans hunt for prison escapees in southern Kandahar

Afghan and foreign troops were hunting on Saturday hundreds of prisoners, including militants, who escaped the main prison in southern Kandahar city after a raid by Taliban insurgents.

  • Agencies
  • Published: 19:16 June 14, 2008
  • Gulf News

Kandahar, Afghanistan: Afghan and foreign troops were hunting on Saturday hundreds of prisoners, including militants, who escaped the main prison in southern Kandahar city after a raid by Taliban insurgents.

Separately, an explosion killed four soldiers from the US-led force during an operation in the western province of Farah on Saturday, the single bloodiest toll among foreign troops in one day in recent weeks in Afghanistan.

Authorities have also launched a probe to find out if any security officials were involved in raid by several dozen Taliban fighters under darkness on Friday.

So far none of the prisoners have been tracked down, deputy justice minister Mohammad Qasim Hashimzai, told reporters.

"It was a very unprecedented attack and together with foreign forces, an operation has been launched to track down and arrest the prisoners."

Hashimzai said some 1,000 inmates, including up to 400 Taliban, were held in the prison before the attack.

He could not say how many had managed to escape, adding there were casualties among police, the Taliban and prisoners from a clash following the attack which began with a suicide bomber driving a truck into the jail gate.

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