50 inmates, 12 policemen dead in prison riot

Up to 50 prisoners and 12 policeman were killed when a riot broke out and dozens escaped from an Iraqi prison holding hundreds of people, including several convicted terrorists, security and police officials said.

The breakout occurred a the Al-Khalis prison, about 80km northeast of Baghdad, and reportedly began when convicts disarmed a warden who had gone to break up a fight, killed the warden, then seized control of the armoury.

Officials said 14 police officers were wounded during both the violence on Friday and an overnight manhunt for the fugitives, Associate Press reported. Among the prisoners were about 300 terrorists.

Terrorism cases in Iraq are mainly linked to Islamist militants, including those associated with the Islamic State insurgency, which Iraqi military and irregular forces are fighting to remove from parts of the country.

It was not clear if any high-profile prisoners were held at Al-Khalis, the head of Diyala's security committee, Seyyid Sadiq al-Husseini, said.

Brigadier General Saad Maan told Agence France-Presse that the riot began when a prisoner snatched a gun from a guard.

“After killing him, the inmate headed up to the weapons storage and he seized more weapons,” Maan said.

“Clashes erupted inside. We lost a first lieutenant and five policemen, 40 prisoners fled. Nine of them were held on terror charges and the rest for common crimes.”

Authorities declared a curfew in the town of Al-Khalis and raided houses in search of fugitives, said police. It was not clear if any high-profile prisoners were held at the jail, said Seyyid Sadiq al-Husseini, the head of Diyala province’s security committee.

Iraq has been plagued by several prison breaks over the past two years, including in the early days of the June 2014 offensive by Islamic State when jihadists freed and recruited hundreds of Sunni inmates.

A mass breakout at the Abu Ghraib prison west of Baghdad, during which more than 500 inmates, including senior Islamist militants, escaped in July 2013, is considered to be one of the key moments in the rise of Isis.