Taliban prisoners release selves on own recognizance

[CountDeMoney]

Taliban dig tunnel to free prisoners from Kandahar jail
By Joshua Partlow and Javed Hamdard, Monday, April 25, 6:30 AM

KABUL — After digging a 1,000-foot tunnel under Kandahar's main prison, the Taliban on Monday morning freed more than 450 prisoners from jail, in the latest major security breach at the troubled facility, according to Afghan officials and insurgent statements.

In celebrating the escape, a Taliban spokesman said more than 100 insurgent commanders were among those who slipped out of the Sarposa prison's political wing into the pre-dawn darkness. Zabiullah Mujahid said in a message to the media that the plan was carried out after five months of careful preparation.

"We were trying to not leave anyone behind, not even one sick or old political prisoner," Mujahid said.

The prison break was a blow to Afghan and American efforts to secure and modernize the Sarposa prison, which stands adjacent to a new U.S.-funded "rule of law" center to process prosecutions.

"This clearly shows the weakness of the government and the security forces, and if this doesn't change, the prison breaks will happen again and again," said Agha Lalai Dastageri, a provincial councilman in Kandahar.

It was not the first major jail break at Sarposa. In June 2008, the Taliban attacked the jail, killing several guards and freeing about 1,000 prisoners. That attack prompted efforts to make the jail more secure. U.S. soldiers contributed to the efforts.

Kandahar's governor, Toryalai Wesa, told reporters that all the prisoners had been entered into a biometric database that will help identify them in the future if they are detained again.

One man who claimed to have escaped the prison Monday said the inmates had already acquired copies of cell keys and quietly opened door after door to usher the prisoners in small groups to the tunnel, according to the Associated Press.

[jimmy olsen]

This is ridiculous  

[Tonitrus]

"The Great Escape" should be required viewing for all military prison guards.

[Ed Anger]

Hochstetter would have surrounded the prison with a ring of steel.

[Maximus]

"The Great Escape" should be required viewingreading for all military prison guards.

fixed

[Tonitrus]

"The Great Escape" should be required viewingreading for all military prison guards.

fixed

This is the US Army (and probably often the National Guard/Reserve), not to mention Afghan, we're talking about here.

[Maximus]

yea but all the movie version tells you is how to jump over fences on motorcycles.

[DGuller]

Was this really an escape?  Or was the tunnel just a cover story?  Somehow I find it hard to believe that guards who are not on the take, and with bullet-free heads, can just overlook hundreds of prisoners escaping.

[citizen k]

The guards were probably Taliban as well.

[citizen k]

They need to go back to storing Taliban prisoners in sealed shipping containers.

[Slargos]

They need to go back to storing Taliban prisoners in sealed shipping containers.

Joking about a gypsy who lost his eye to battery is a tragedy, joking about thousands of taliban PoW being slowly cooked in shipping containers is a statistic.

[Ed Anger]

They need to go back to storing Taliban prisoners in sealed shipping containers.

Oh Dostrum, you knew how to handle the scum.