The incident happened in the town of Al-Khalis in Iraq’s Diyala Province, about 50 miles north of Baghdad.
According to Emirates 24/7, Iraq interior ministry confirmed death of six guards and 30 inmates while 40 of the prisoners escaped.
Most of the inmates who escaped in the jailbreak were being held on terrorism charges.
There are conflicting reports on the exact cause of the jailbreak. Iraqi officials claim a riot inside the prison led to the escape. Reportedly some of the inmates attempted to seize the weapons which led to the riot. Officials denied any external assault on the jail.
But the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the breakout in a statement saying it was a coordinated attack and the group detonated Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) against the convoys and vehicles around the prison.
Emirates 24/7 quoted the Daesh group saying, “Fifteen IEDs were detonated against army and police convoys and vehicles around the prison.”
Reportedly curfew has been declared by Iraqi police in Al-Khalis. Iraqi security is searching homes for escaped convicts.
According to BBC, “This is the third such jailbreak in Diyala since last June, when IS seized large territories in north and western Iraq.”
In 2013, more than 500 inmates escaped from the infamous Abu Ghraib prison when militants broke open the prison with mortar attacks and suicide squads.
Following the ouster of Saddam Hussein and the instatement of Shia-led Maliki government, Iraq has been facing a relentless Sunni insurgency.
The Sunnis have reportedly allied with the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq. They have become a formidable force, disturbing Iraq’s stability on an almost daily basis. The attacks are mostly against Shia Muslims and security forces among other targets.
