09-14-2015, 08:04 AM
Mon Sep 14, 2015 | 2:00 AM EDT
By Mustafa Andalib GHAZNI, Afghanistan (Reuters) -
Taliban insurgents stormed a mud fort being used as a prison in Afghanistan on Monday, killing police and releasing more than 400 inmates, and then attacked troops rushing to help, officials said.
The latest Taliban prison raid, on the outskirts
of the central city of Ghazni, comes after
setbacks for the government in different parts
of the country and deadly attacks in Kabul
which have dashed hopes for peace talks.
A Reuters reporter outside the prison in Ghazni, 120 km (75 miles) southwest of the capital, Kabul, saw the bodies of two men who
appeared to be suicide bombers and a blown-up car that had apparently been used to destroy the main entrance.
Mohammed Ali Ahmadi, deputy city governor,
said more than 400 prisoners had escaped.
About 80 had been recaptured and 352 were
on the run, including about 150 Taliban.
Seven Taliban and four members of the security forces were killed in the attack, he said.
"Roads to the prison were covered with land
mines in advance to avoid reinforcement,"
Ahmadi told reporters. "An army vehicle coming for reinforcements was blown up by a roadside bomb while trying to reach the prison."
Ahmadi said the prison did not have heavy
security because it was so close to Ghazni -
only seven km (4.3 miles) from the city center -
and it was believed that reinforcements would
get there quickly in the event of trouble.
One security official said the attackers, armed
with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic
rifles, were wearing Afghan security force
uniforms.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said
gunmen and three suicide bombers attacked
the prison at 2 a.m. (2200 GMT Sunday).
Three bombers were killed, he said. "Forty Afghan security forces and prison guards
were killed in the prison break and important
military mujahideen officials have been freed,"
he said, referring to Islamist fighters.
The Taliban often exaggerate casualty tolls in
statements about their attacks.
The Taliban are fighting to overthrow the
foreign-backed government of President Ashraf Ghani, expel foreign forces from Afghanistan and impose a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
The insurgents have on several occasions
attacked jails to free hundreds of prisoners
including their comrades in both Afghanistan
and neighboring Pakistan.
Security at the prisons is often poor, with
untrained, poorly equipped police guarding
crumbling facilities.
(Writing by Mirwais Harooni; Editing by
Katharine Houreld, Robert Birsel)
By Mustafa Andalib GHAZNI, Afghanistan (Reuters) -
Taliban insurgents stormed a mud fort being used as a prison in Afghanistan on Monday, killing police and releasing more than 400 inmates, and then attacked troops rushing to help, officials said.
The latest Taliban prison raid, on the outskirts
of the central city of Ghazni, comes after
setbacks for the government in different parts
of the country and deadly attacks in Kabul
which have dashed hopes for peace talks.
A Reuters reporter outside the prison in Ghazni, 120 km (75 miles) southwest of the capital, Kabul, saw the bodies of two men who
appeared to be suicide bombers and a blown-up car that had apparently been used to destroy the main entrance.
Mohammed Ali Ahmadi, deputy city governor,
said more than 400 prisoners had escaped.
About 80 had been recaptured and 352 were
on the run, including about 150 Taliban.
Seven Taliban and four members of the security forces were killed in the attack, he said.
"Roads to the prison were covered with land
mines in advance to avoid reinforcement,"
Ahmadi told reporters. "An army vehicle coming for reinforcements was blown up by a roadside bomb while trying to reach the prison."
Ahmadi said the prison did not have heavy
security because it was so close to Ghazni -
only seven km (4.3 miles) from the city center -
and it was believed that reinforcements would
get there quickly in the event of trouble.
One security official said the attackers, armed
with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic
rifles, were wearing Afghan security force
uniforms.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said
gunmen and three suicide bombers attacked
the prison at 2 a.m. (2200 GMT Sunday).
Three bombers were killed, he said. "Forty Afghan security forces and prison guards
were killed in the prison break and important
military mujahideen officials have been freed,"
he said, referring to Islamist fighters.
The Taliban often exaggerate casualty tolls in
statements about their attacks.
The Taliban are fighting to overthrow the
foreign-backed government of President Ashraf Ghani, expel foreign forces from Afghanistan and impose a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
The insurgents have on several occasions
attacked jails to free hundreds of prisoners
including their comrades in both Afghanistan
and neighboring Pakistan.
Security at the prisons is often poor, with
untrained, poorly equipped police guarding
crumbling facilities.
(Writing by Mirwais Harooni; Editing by
Katharine Houreld, Robert Birsel)