Taliban and Al Qaeda Takeover Prison in Kabul ¶ High-Security 2,000 Inmates

KABUL, Afghanistan (ABC/AP) Feb 26, 2006 — Terror convicts and hundreds of other inmates clashed with guards and took control of parts of a high-security prison in Afghanistan’s capital, officials said.

Police and soldiers surrounded the Pol-e-Charki Prison as government officials attempted to negotiate with the inmates, who include al-Qaida and Taliban militants.

An Associated Press reporter heard two bursts of gunfire about two hours apart from inside the prison Sunday. A few minutes after the first gunfire, an ambulance carrying an unidentified patient drove out of the prison.

The trouble began Saturday night when prisoners forced guards out of a prison block, said Abdul Salaam Bakshi, chief of prisons in Afghanistan. He accused al-Qaida and Taliban inmates of inciting other prisoners.

The Afghan army deployed more than 100 soldiers to surround the prison and parked eight tanks and armored personnel carriers outside the gates. “All the problem is inside the prison,” Bakshi said. “We want to peacefully solve this problem.”

Mohammed Qasim Hashimzai, deputy justice minister, said at least four inmates were injured in the riot Saturday night but prisoners refused an offer for them to be treated. No guards were hurt in the clash.

Bakshi said the inmates had attacked guards and tried to force their way out of their prison block but were stopped. He said the inmates had small knives and clubs fashioned from wrecked furniture. They also set fire to bedding.

The prison holds 2,000 inmates, including some 350 al-Qaida and Taliban militants.

Pul-e-Charkhi is a huge prison
complex built in the 1970s

This reverse-rendition policy should begin at once. The problem of terrorist jailbreaks is even worse than it appears. The Center for Security Policy (CSP) helped me document a dozen instances since September 11, 2001, when at least 138 suspected or convicted Muslim terrorists have fled from behind bars in Afghanistan, Russia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Yemen. Collectively, these killers have murdered at least 328 individuals and injured 518 others.

“This number is probably far too low, as there undoubtedly have been cases that were not made public,” says Robert T. McLean, a CSP research associate.

These 12 breakouts alone paint a frightening portrait of Islamic killers who have outwitted their jailers and, in some cases, slipped loose with the active assistance of their guards …

In December 2004, four inmates and four guards died during a 10-hour standoff that started when some al-Qaida militants used razors to wrest some guns from guards and then tried to break out. Afghan troops stormed the prison and fired guns and rocket-propelled grenades to retake control.

Several wings of Pol-e-Charkhi prison are being refurbished to improve security and living conditions. Some 110 Afghan terror suspects are expected to be transferred there later this year from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Afghan officials say.

The Afghan authorities say they are questioning 10 police guards arrested after the escape of Taleban prisoners in the capital, Kabul.

Seven Taleban prisoners escaped from the country’s main high security Pol-e-Charkhi prison, director Abdul Salam Bakhshi said.

This is the second high-profile jail escape by suspected Al-Qaeda or Taleban militants in Afghanistan. Four al-Qaeda suspects escaped from US custody at Bagram airbase last July.

‘Negligence or treachery’

Mr Bakhshi declined to identify the escapees from Pol-e-Charkhi but said a manhunt was underway to recapture them. He accused the prison’s guards of being involved in the prisoner’s breakout plot.