'AL-QAEDA GROUP' FLEES IRAQ JAIL !
Sixteen members of al-Qaeda in Iraq have escaped from a prison north of Baghdad, Iraqi security officials say.
Reports said five of the group, who were being held at a facility in Tikrit, had been sentenced to death for involvement in attacks.
A security official said that the men removed the windows from a bathroom, crawled through the opening and climbed a ladder over the prison walls.
One of the men has since been caught, but the rest remain at large.
Checkpoints have been set up around Tikrit, which is a predominantly Sunni town in Salah al-Din province about 80 miles (130km) from Baghdad.
Iraqi military spokesman Maj Gen Abdul-Karim Khalaf said extra surveillance had also been ordered at Iraq's borders and throughout the north-west of the country.
A senior provincial security official told AFP news agency that the escapees had probably received assistance from within the prison system.
"It is clear there was co-operation with specific groups that helped them escape. Probably one of the officials helped them," he said.
In a separate development, 24 people have been arrested in Morocco on suspicion of having links to a cell recruiting suicide bombers for Iraq, according to a state news agency.
It said the group, based in towns and cities across Morocco, was also suspected of recruiting men to fight in Somalia and Afghanistan.
Reports said five of the group, who were being held at a facility in Tikrit, had been sentenced to death for involvement in attacks.
A security official said that the men removed the windows from a bathroom, crawled through the opening and climbed a ladder over the prison walls.
One of the men has since been caught, but the rest remain at large.
Checkpoints have been set up around Tikrit, which is a predominantly Sunni town in Salah al-Din province about 80 miles (130km) from Baghdad.
Iraqi military spokesman Maj Gen Abdul-Karim Khalaf said extra surveillance had also been ordered at Iraq's borders and throughout the north-west of the country.
A senior provincial security official told AFP news agency that the escapees had probably received assistance from within the prison system.
"It is clear there was co-operation with specific groups that helped them escape. Probably one of the officials helped them," he said.
In a separate development, 24 people have been arrested in Morocco on suspicion of having links to a cell recruiting suicide bombers for Iraq, according to a state news agency.
It said the group, based in towns and cities across Morocco, was also suspected of recruiting men to fight in Somalia and Afghanistan.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Labels: Iraq Jail al-Qaeda Baghdad Proson Escaped Tikrit Sunni
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