IRAQ: Governor of Salahuddin province visits Tikrit prison after more than a dozen al-Qaeda suspects break out, allegedly with police help

Record ID: 566580

  • Title: IRAQ: Governor of Salahuddin province visits Tikrit prison after more than a dozen al-Qaeda suspects break out, allegedly with police help
  • Date: 27th September 2009
  • Summary: TIKRIT, IRAQ (SEPTEMBER 24, 2009) (REUTERS) GOVERNOR OF SALAHUDDIN PROVINCE MUTASHAR HUSSEIN ALLAWI AND IRAQI SECURITY FORCES ARRIVING AT TIKRIT PRISON TIKRIT, IRAQ (SEPTEMBER 24, 2009) (REUTERS) (MUTE) ALLAWI AND IRAQI SECURITY FORCES LOOKING AT VENTILATION DUCT CLOSE OF VENTILATION DUCT TIKRIT, IRAQ (SEPTEMBER 24, 2009) (REUTERS) ALLAWI GREETING PRISON GUARDS VARIOUS OF BARBED WIRE ON FENCE OF PRISON ALLAWI AND IRAQI SECURITY FORCES LOOKING THROUGH GRILL AT PRISON CELLS PRISONERS SITTING ON GROUND INSIDE PRISON AS IRAQI SECURITY FORCES WALK PAST THEM TIKRIT, IRAQ (SEPTEMBER 24, 2009) (REUTERS) (MUTE) ALLAWI AND SECURITY FORCES ENTERING OFFICE PRISON OFFICIALS TALKING TO ALLAWI TIKRIT, IRAQ (SEPTEMBER 24, 2009) (REUTERS) ALLAWI AND IRAQI SECURITY FORCES LEAVING
  • Embargoed: 12th October 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVA35ALTNSBD9YHQ47883CDRDWZW
  • Story Text: The governor of Iraq's Salahuddin province, Mutashar Hussein Allawi, toured a prison in Tikrit on Thursday (September 24) a day after more than a dozen suspected al-Qaeda militants had escaped from the jail.
    He viewed the ventilation duct, which had been left open, providing the means for the prisoners' escape.
    Allawi said it appeared there may have been police involvement or negligence in the prison break out, and that an investigation was underway.
    One of the men who escaped on Wednesday evening was recaptured on Thursday afternoon, police said, but 15 others remained at large.
    Among those still missing was Waleed Ayash, an al-Qaeda leader accused of killing police and civilians in the restive town of Dhuluiya in Salahuddin province.
    Others who escaped had been convicted of various crimes, including murder, kidnapping and planting roadside bombs.
    The break out raises questions about the effectiveness of Iraq's security forces and the country's penitentiary system as American troops prepare to withdraw from the country by the end of 2011.
    Iraq's overburdened prison system, known as fertile ground for insurgent recruitment, is facing a new challenge as American forces hand over detainees they have held for years in Iraq.
    A bilateral security pact that took effect last year requires U.S. forces to gradually release detainees who do not face Iraqi arrest warrants or detention orders and hand others over to Iraqi authorities.
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