Afghan Taliban Storm Ghazni Prison, Free Hundreds
By EHSANULLAH AMIRI and MARGHERITA STANCATI
Wall Street Journal
Sept. 14, 2015 3:08 a.m. ET
KABUL—Taliban insurgents stormed a prison in central Afghanistan on Monday, freeing hundreds of inmates in the largest jailbreak in the country in years.
The attack began at around 2 a.m. local time, residents and officials said, when a car bomb exploded outside the entrance of the Ghazni city prison.
The perimeter wall collapsed in the blast, allowing six militants disguised in police uniforms to enter the compound and reach its main building, said Mohammad Ali Ahmadi, the deputy governor of Ghazni province.
“In the hall they shouted: ‘we are Taliban and we are here to release you guys,’” he said.
The Afghan Ministry of Interior said there are 355 fugitives, of whom 148 are Taliban or other militants, and that four policemen were killed in the attack. A ministerial delegation is investigating the jailbreak from the prison, which held 436 inmates.
“Allahu Akbar!” or “God is great!” Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said in a Twitter post. He said three of the attackers had died.
The jailbreak is a major blow to attempts by Afghan forces to stabilize Ghazni, an insecure province just a few hours’ drive from the capital, Kabul. It also raises questions about whether Afghan police are able to effectively secure prisons without the support of international forces.
Inmates had staged a protest inside the prison hours before the Taliban attack—a possible indication that the escape was coordinated, officials said.
The unrest prompted Afghan intelligence officers to transfer about 20 high-value Taliban militants to a different location in the hours before the prison break, according to a member of Ghazni’s provincial council.
Jailbreaks in Afghanistan aren’t new. In 2011—when the American military presence in the country was at its peak—about 500 inmates fled a high-security prison in Kandahar province, the Taliban’s spiritual heartland.
Since the beginning of this year, Afghan forces have been fighting with only limited support from their U.S. allies, even as the Taliban insurgency remains strong and undiminished.
Write to Margherita Stancati at margherita.stancati@wsj.com
Wall Street Journal
Sept. 14, 2015 3:08 a.m. ET
KABUL—Taliban insurgents stormed a prison in central Afghanistan on Monday, freeing hundreds of inmates in the largest jailbreak in the country in years.
The attack began at around 2 a.m. local time, residents and officials said, when a car bomb exploded outside the entrance of the Ghazni city prison.
The perimeter wall collapsed in the blast, allowing six militants disguised in police uniforms to enter the compound and reach its main building, said Mohammad Ali Ahmadi, the deputy governor of Ghazni province.
“In the hall they shouted: ‘we are Taliban and we are here to release you guys,’” he said.
The Afghan Ministry of Interior said there are 355 fugitives, of whom 148 are Taliban or other militants, and that four policemen were killed in the attack. A ministerial delegation is investigating the jailbreak from the prison, which held 436 inmates.
“Allahu Akbar!” or “God is great!” Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said in a Twitter post. He said three of the attackers had died.
The jailbreak is a major blow to attempts by Afghan forces to stabilize Ghazni, an insecure province just a few hours’ drive from the capital, Kabul. It also raises questions about whether Afghan police are able to effectively secure prisons without the support of international forces.
Inmates had staged a protest inside the prison hours before the Taliban attack—a possible indication that the escape was coordinated, officials said.
The unrest prompted Afghan intelligence officers to transfer about 20 high-value Taliban militants to a different location in the hours before the prison break, according to a member of Ghazni’s provincial council.
Jailbreaks in Afghanistan aren’t new. In 2011—when the American military presence in the country was at its peak—about 500 inmates fled a high-security prison in Kandahar province, the Taliban’s spiritual heartland.
Since the beginning of this year, Afghan forces have been fighting with only limited support from their U.S. allies, even as the Taliban insurgency remains strong and undiminished.
Write to Margherita Stancati at margherita.stancati@wsj.com
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