Afghanistan: Hundreds escape from Kandahar prison
KANDAHAR. April 25. KAZINFORM More than 470 inmates at a prison in southern Afghanistan have escaped through a tunnel hundreds of metres long and dug from outside the jail; Kazinform refers to BBC News.
Officials in the city of Kandahar said that many of those who escaped were Taliban insurgents.
The Kandahar provincial governor's office said some had since been recaptured but gave no further details.
A spokesman for the Taliban said it had dug the 320m (1,050ft) tunnel and that it had taken five months to construct.
Zabiullah Mujahid said about 100 of those who escaped were Taliban commanders, and most of the others were fighters with the insurgency.
Correspondents say the Taliban often make exaggerated claims.
"A tunnel hundreds of metres long was dug from the south of the prison into the prison and 476 political prisoners escaped last night," said prison director General Ghulam Dastageer Mayar.
The prison holds about 1,200 inmates
One escapee told the BBC it had taken him about 30 minutes to walk the length of the tunnel. The escape took most of the night and vehicles were waiting at the exit point to take prisoners away.
It is thought that the tunnel was dug from a house outside the prison walls; Kazinform cites BBC News.
See www.bbc.co.uk for full version.