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More than 500 escape Abu Ghraib
The carefully orchestrated late-night attacks killed dozens Sunday, including at least 25 members of the Iraqi security forces. Insurgents fired dozens of mortar shells and detonated suicide and car bombs, drawing Iraqi forces into firefights that lasted more than an hour. The prisons in Abu Ghraib and Taji house thousands of prisoners, including convicted al-Qaida militants. Exactly one year ago, al-Qaidas Iraq arm launched a campaign called Breaking the Walls that made freeing its imprisoned members a top priority. Several officials, including lawmakers on parliaments security and defense committee, said more than 500 inmates managed to escape from Abu Ghraib. There were no immediate reports of escapes from Taji. Authorities imposed curfews around both prisons as manhunts got under way. Guards at Taji appeared visibly on edge Monday, with rifles at the ready and wary police warning motorists not to idle even briefly nearby. This big security failure shows that the top security commanders have failed to sort out any solutions for the ongoing security deterioration, said Shawan Mohammed Taha, one of the lawmakers who confirmed the escapes. The terrorists, not the security forces, are now taking the initiative. Another lawmaker, Hakim al-Zamili, said many of the escaped inmates had been captured or killed by Monday afternoon. He said authorities believe the attack on Taji was a distraction, and that Abu Ghraib was the main target. So many prisoners were able to get away from Abu Ghraib because they were in the prison yard for the communal iftar meal that ends the daylong fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, said a senior intelligence official and two other government officials. They also confirmed the number of escaped inmates and said an investigation has now been launched into who ordered the open-air Ramadan feast. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation. A preliminary investigation suggests the insurgents had inside help, said the Interior Ministry.
A total of 21 prisoners were killed and another 25 wounded during the attacks, according to Justice Ministry spokesman Wissam al-Firaiji. Jailbreaks are relatively common in Iraq. A dozen prisoners, including al-Qaida-linked death row inmates, escaped from the Taji prison in January after seizing guards weapons. And in September, scores more inmates got away following clashes at a prison in Saddam Husseins hometown of Tikrit that left 12 people dead. Still, the scale of this weeks attacks was significant and appears to have been an operation long in the planning by al-Qaida, said Charles Lister, an analyst at IHS Janes Terrorism and Insurgency Center. Releasing ordinary prisoners will help gain the group the image of a Sunni armed force representing Sunnis in a Shiite-governed state. Releasing militants will clearly provide a huge boost in morale, particularly if they include senior commanders, Lister said. Depending on actual numbers, this could well boost (the groups) operations in Iraq but also feasibly in Syria. Posted by: Steve White 2013-07-23 |
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