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| Iraq | ||
| Iraqi forces catch five al-Qaeda jailbreakers | ||
| 2009-09-26 | ||
| [Al Arabiya Latest] The ringleader of a daring prison break and four other al-Qaeda fugitives were recaptured on Friday, two days after they fled jail in what officials believe was an inside job. Hundreds of police and soldiers were deployed on the streets of Tikrit, capital of Salaheddin province north of Baghdad, as part of a manhunt for the remaining 10 escapees, while about 100 guards and staff at the prison were being questioned.
The officer said two other men were arrested in the same Albo Ajeel area, 15 kilometers (nine miles) east of Tikrit, where Ayash had been caught. An officer in the provincial security operations centre said later that two others were apprehended in central Tikrit at around 3:00 pm (1200 GMT). The 16 men broke out of the prison, a former presidential palace, in Saddam Hussein's hometown by fleeing through a window and scaling a ladder to climb over the prison wall. One of them was rearrested early on Thursday. Hundreds of policemen and soldiers were deployed on Tikrit's streets, while checkpoints were reinforced and security along Iraq's border with Syria was stepped up. Forces in neighboring cities such as Samarra were also on heightened alert. Prison staff questioned
About 100 prison guards and staff were being questioned in connection with the breakout, the area's provincial governor told AFP on Thursday evening, blaming collusion or negligence for the security breach. "We suspect that they had accomplices inside (the prison) because there was such a high number of fugitives," said governor Mutashar Hussein Elewi. "Either that or there was some kind of negligence in the administration of the prison." Interior Minister Jawad Bolani issued the order to put guards and other prison workers under detention for questioning, Elewi said. In the aftermath of the escape, the head of the province's police-controlled anti-terror force, Colonel Mohammed Salah al-Juburi, was fired, a police source said. "Pack yer shit and get out, Moe!" Interior ministry spokesman Major General Abdel Karim Khalaf said several local security officers responsible for prisoner surveillance were arrested in connection with the escape, but he declined to specify how many. The prisoners had only been transferred to the jail, which is run by the interior ministry, earlier on Wednesday evening, a police source said. The U.S. army said it provided military dogs at the request of Iraqi authorities to search the immediate vicinity of the jail. "We have also provided aerial surveillance to assist with the search of the city and outer lying areas," said spokesman Major Derrick Cheng. Posters with the pictures of the fugitives were distributed across Tikrit and the province. Iraq's prison system divides responsibility between the ministries of justice, interior and defense, with each of them running various detention facilities. Tikrit, a predominantly Sunni Arab town 180 kilometers (110 miles) from Baghdad, was home to now executed dictator Saddam and many of his henchmen. | ||
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 four death sentences? Carry one out. Now. And You'll never have to worry about escape again. Just saying.... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-09-26 08:27 |