Taliban attack Afghan prison, free inmates

[unhappycamper]

Taliban attack Afghan prison, free inmates
By Noor Khan and Amir Shah - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Jun 13, 2008 19:00:10 EDT

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Taliban militants staged a brazen bomb and rocket attack on the main prison in southern Afghanistan late Friday, blowing down the gate and helping hundreds of suspected insurgents flee, officials said. Many police officers were reported killed.

The complex attack included a truck bombing at the main gate, a suicide bomber who struck a back wall and rockets fired from outside, setting of a series of explosions that rattled Kandahar, the country’s second biggest city.

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, said 30 insurgents on motorbikes and two suicide bombers attacked Sarposa Prison and freed about 400 Taliban members.

Abdul Qabir, chief of the Sarposa Prison, said hundreds of prisoners escaped but did not provide an exact figure. He said some inmates stayed at the jail, which also held criminals.

Wali Karzai, the brother of President Hamid Karzai who is president of Kandahar’s provincial council, said the prison held about 350 suspected Taliban fighters.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/ap_afghanattack_061308/