Iraq al-Qaeda says it masterminded escape

12 October 2012 / REUTERS, BAGHDAD

Iraq's branch of al-Qaeda said it masterminded a jailbreak

in the northern city of Tikrit last month and smuggled 

weapons to inmates, according to a statement posted

on militant websites.




Dozens of prisoners, many of them convicted members

of al-Qaeda on death row, fought their way out of the 

jail, killing 16 members of the security forces in ensuing

clashes. Al-Qaeda issued a statement saying
it planned the mass escape with prisoners, sent them

arms and detonated a car bomb outside the prison gate

to give them a chance to flee, according to SITE, a group

which monitors extremist websites. Iraq's Interior 

Ministry has accused prison officials of complicity in

the jailbreak.




The country is home to a number of Sunni insurgent groups,

including a local branch of al-Qaeda called the Islamic State

of Iraq, which continue to launch attacks to undermine the

Shiite-led government. Security at prisons was beefed up

following the jailbreak and some inmates were transferred

to fortified jails.

Last September, 35 prisoners facing terrorism charges

escaped via a sewage pipe from a temporary jail in the

northern city of Mosul, an al-Qaeda stronghold.