15 killed in hunt for escaped Afghan inmates

[unhappycamper]

15 killed in hunt for escaped Afghan inmates
By Jason Straziuso - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Jun 15, 2008 11:14:16 EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan — U.S.-led coalition and Afghan forces killed more than 15 insurgents during a hunt for inmates who fled prison after a sophisticated Taliban attack that set hundreds free, while Afghan forces recaptured 20 prisoners, officials said Sunday.

The U.S. said it couldn’t immediately confirm that any of the 15 killed were escaped prisoners. Five militants were also captured during the Saturday operation, it said.

The provincial police chief of Kandahar province has said 870 prisoners — including some 400 Taliban militants — escaped from the Kandahar prison during a coordinated assault on the facility by dozens of insurgents late Friday.

The chief, Sayed Agha Saqib, said Sunday that Afghan police and army soldiers recaptured 20 prisoners, including seven former Taliban inmates.

The coalition said the 15 insurgents it killed were in a farming compound in Kandahar province and the combined forces used airstrikes to destroy it after insurgents fired at them.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/ap_afghanistan_escapees_061508/