Forty inmates in a prison in eastern Iraq, including some convicted of terrorism charges, have escaped amid a riot that killed at least six police officers and 30 prisoners, authorities said on Saturday.
There were conflicting casualty reports on the attack at the Khalis prison in Diyala province. Two provincial police officials and a medical official put the toll much higher, saying 51 inmates and 12 policemen were killed, while more than 200 inmates escaped. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to release the information.
Brig Gen Saad Maan Ibrahim, the Interior Ministry spokesman, told The Associated Press that a fight broke out first among the inmates of the prison and when guards went to investigate, they were overpowered and had their weapons taken. There are hundreds of inmates in the prison.
Some of those that escaped were wanted on terrorism charges, Ibrahim added. He said security forces were cordoning off the area, hunting for the escaped inmates. He put the death toll at 36, including the six police officers and 30 prisoners.
The town of Khalis is located about 80 kilometers north of Baghdad. Jailbreaks are common in Iraq and usually a result of assaults from militants seeking to free their comrades in prison.
IS claims responsibility
Dozens of people were killed and 40 inmates escaped in a bloody prison break north of the Iraqi capital for which the Islamic State jihadist group claimed responsibility on Saturday.
The interior ministry said six guards and 30 detainees were killed on Friday while 40 inmates escaped from the police compound prison in Khalis, around 50 kilometres from Baghdad.
“One of the prisoners seized a weapon from a guard. After killing him, the inmate headed up to the weapons storage and he seized more weapons,” spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan said.