Hundreds escape in Pakistan jail break

Dozens of Taliban fighters disguised as police and armed with bombs and grenades attacked a jail in north-west Pakistan freeing more that 250 prisoners including 30 described as “hardcore militants” in a brazen overnight operation. The militants killed six policemen, six Shiite Muslim prisoners and two civilians during the attack on Monday night, said the town's commissioner, Mushtaq Jadoon. One of the Shiites was beheaded, added Jadoon, and 15 policemen were wounded. The attack targeted the Central Prison in Dera Ismail Khan, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, close to the lawless tribal regions bordering Afghanistan where Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents are active. The militants remain inside the prison, along with jail staff and prisoners, with the Pakistani army arrayed outside as fighting continues, with explosions and machine gunfire rattling the city A total of 243 prisoners have escaped, six of them were later arrested by police Jadoon told private TV channel ARY News, adding that "30 among the escaped prisoners were hardcore militants". A security official said the jail held up to 5,000 prisoners including around 300 militants involved in attacks on security forces and sectarian killings. Jadoon said the fighters had planted dozens of explosive devices in the jail which were later defused by bomb disposal experts. "Police and other law enforcing agencies have cleared the jail," he said, adding authorities had imposed a curfew on the city and asked residents to stay at home. Jadoon said around 50 to 60 militants managed to enter the jail as others fired rockets from outside. In a reminder of the enormous security challenges facing Pakistan, the violence broke out just hours before the nation's lawmakers began voting for the country's new president. The new head of state will replace outgoing President Asif Ali Zardari, who is ending a five-year term. His party lost May's general elections and his successor is likely to be Mamnoon Hussain, a close ally of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Pakistan is battling a Taliban-led domestic insurgency that has killed thousands of civilians and security personnel since 2007. Washington considers the border tribal areas a major hub of Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants plotting attacks on the West and in Afghanistan. Source: AFP