In a stunning display of suicidal insurgency, Sunni Muslim militants broke senior members of al Queda out of Abu Ghraib prison. Located roughly 20 miles west Baghdad, the capital city of Iraq, the prison break consisted of combatant suicide bombers driving vehicles heavy with explosives to the gates of the prison and simply blasted their way through. The number of escaped, including many of the al Queda members sentenced to death, is thought to be approximately 500.
Reuters first reported the story this afternoon. According to the report, once the bombers were able to burst through the gates, gunmen strategically placed themselves along the road to the fortified compound, fighting off security reinforcements while companions attacked guards with mortars and grenade launchers.
Several of the attackers then, wearing suicide vests, entered the prison on foot in an attempt to free the detained al Queda members. Some 10 policemen and 4 militants have been reported dead.
A simultaneous attack on a similar prison complex in Tajhi, about 12 miles north of Baghdad, took place though that dissent was contained by authorities in which no prisoners escaped. Reuters reports further that 16 soldiers and six militants were killed in the strike.
One security official told Reuters on condition of anonymity: “It’s obviously a terrorist attack carried out by al Qaeda to free convicted terrorists with al Qaeda.”
Sunni insurgents have been on the rise as of late as war-torn Iraq struggles to keep power in the hands of the Shi-ite government installed after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003. Back in April, at a Sunni protest camp in Hawija, near the disputed city of Kirkuk, a clash between gunmen and Iraqi security forces killed more than 40 people.
Relations between Islam’s two main religious sects have been pushed even further due to the civil war in Syria, which has drawn in Shi’ite and Sunni fighters from Iraq and beyond to fight against each other in a perpetual battle that has resulted in the death of close to 80,000.
Stay tuned to BostInno as this is a developing story. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as more details continue to be made publicly available.
