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Mass jail break in Pakistan , Taliban gunmen storm prison

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Peshawar: Taliban fighters disguised as police and armed with bombs and grenades broke 250 prisoners out of a Pakistan jail in a brazen overnight attack that undermined the new governments ability to combat an escalating insurgency.

 

The assault on the heavily guarded Central Prison in the city of Dera Ismail Khan took place despite reports that regional officials had received intelligence a fortnight ago suggesting such an attack was imminent.

The carefully planned attack underlines the growing capabilities of the Pakistani branch of the Taliban, an offshoot of the Islamist insurgents of the same name in neighboring Afghanistan.

Despite promising peace talks with the insurgents during an election campaign earlier this year, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appears to be accepting that the use of military force may be unavoidable after a series of high-profile attacks.

The Pakistani Taliban said they had sent a squad of 100 fighters and seven suicide bombers on a mission to free some of their top leaders, and they said they released 250 prisoners a number roughly matched by local Pakistani authorities.

Fighting continued into the early hours of Tuesday, with explosions and machine gunfire rattling the city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on the edge of Pakistans lawless tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.

At least 12 people were killed, officials said, including five policemen and four prisoners from the minority Shi’ite sect whose throats were slashed by gunmen, officials said. The Taliban are mostly majority Sunni Muslims.

Mushtaq Jadoon, the towns civil commissioner, said the 253 escaped prisoners included 30 top militants and six people on death row. Those who escaped are believed to have been whisked away to nearby South and North Waziristan, areas where the Taliban has strongholds.

As the attack unfolded, gunmen blew up electricity lines to the prison and detonated bombs to breach the outer walls.

They fought their way inside using rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns, and called the names of Taliban prisoners they wanted to release through loud speakers.

Once inside, attackers shot open most of the locks and used bombs to blast their way deep into the prison, shouting “All the locks are broken! Those who want to escape, now is your chance,” prison officials who were there at the time told.

Security forces said they had imposed a curfew on the city and the gunbattle was over by dawn. A Reuters reporter at the scene saw security forces and bomb disposal squads conducting searches amid ruined walls strewn with bullet holes.

The audacity of the latest assault raised embarrassing questions over how well-prepared security forces are following a series of high-profile attacks, and underscores the challenges facing Pakistans new government in combating the militancy.

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