More than 230 escape in Pakistan jailbreak

More than 230 prisoners including hardcore militants escaped late Monday after Taliban insurgents armed with mortars and rocket propelled grenades attacked a prison in northwest Pakistan, officials said. At least 12 people including four policemen were killed and seven others wounded in the brazen attack in Dera Ismail Khan, senior government official Mushtaq Jadoon told private TV channel ARY News. "A total of 243 prisoners have escaped, six of them were later arrested by police," he said, adding that "30 among the escaped prisoners were hardcore militants". The attack targeted the Central Prison in Dera Ismail Khan, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, close to the lawless tribal regions bordering Afghanistan where Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents are active. Jadoon said militants had planted dozens of explosive devices in the jail and 14 of them had so far been defused. "Police and other law enforcing agencies are busy in clearing the jail," he said. Authorities have imposed a curfew in the city and asked the residents to stay at home. "Through media, we appeal to the people to stay at homes. It is to avoid any damages if army, police and paramilitary take any action," he added. Jadoon said around 50 to 60 militants managed to enter the jail as others fired rockets from outside. "First they destroyed a police armoured vehicle parked at the front gate," Jadoon said, adding that two policemen were killed in this rocket attack.