Almost 400 prisoners escape Pakistan jail

According to officials, nearly 400 prisoners have escaped a northwestern Pakistan jail early this Sunday morning after the jail was attacked by Islamist militants. The jail is situated in the city of Bahnu in Khybar Pakhtunkhwa. This area is well known for high presence of militants.

A senior police official in the city said, that four officials of the prison were injured in this attack, which lasted at least two hours. The jail was held 944 prisoners and 384 of them escaped. At least twenty of escaped prisoners are very dangerous Taliban militants. But Asimullah Mehsud, the spokesman of Taliban confirmed that militants released one thousand and two hundred members of the group. The group is known for overstating.

The prison was attacked before the dawn, and the attackers were equipped with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. Apparently, the aim of attackers was releasing a senior Taliban commander. But in the attack almost all of the prison’s records were destroyed and now officials are still working to check up the names and crimes of those who escaped. Certainly two of the prisoners had been waiting for execution.

One of the inmates who escaped, Adhan Rashid, had been declared guilty in the failed murder of the ex - President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf in 2003. Safi Ullah, the other one, was found guilty of several bombings in Pakistan.

All the roads leading to jail were blocked. According to Mr Hussain, several of escaped prisoners had already been captured.

The jail near Kandahar in Afghanistan was attacked at the same audacious way last year in April. That time Talibans released at least 470 prisoners, among who were Taliban fighters and commanders.