Wizdom
11-10-03, 14:40
41 jailed Taliban in tunnel escape
Saturday, October 11, 2003 Posted: 9:30 AM EDT (1330 GMT)
Two decades of fighting have left Afghanistan in ruins.
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) -- Forty-one Taliban prisoners tunneled out of jail in southern Afghanistan in a dramatic escape that is embarrassing for the government and presents yet another security headache in the troubled region.
The break-out from the main jail in the volatile southern city of Kandahar occurred on Friday night, the city's security chief General Salem told Reuters. He said all the prisoners were from one barracks of the jail, which houses some 400 prisoners.
"Last night, in the middle of the night, about 40 prisoners escaped through a 30-meter tunnel," he said. "They included some important Taliban -- one was the brother of Mawlavi Obaidullah."
Obaidullah was Taliban defense minister and has evaded capture since the hardline Islamists were overthrown by U.S.-led forces two years ago. In June, he was named as part of a 10-man leadership council by shadowy Taliban leader Mullah Omar.
Taliban spokesman Haji Abdul Latif said Obaidullah's brother was Mawlavi Abdullah and there were a total of 41 escapees, all of whom were from the Taliban.
Senior government intelligence official Attaullah Khan said it was possible some prison guards assisted the escape, but Latif said the prisoners acted alone.
Kandahar province has been the scene of many recent Taliban attacks that have curtailed aid and reconstruction work.
The escape will also be an embarrassment for the new governor for Kandahar, Yusuf Pashtun, who was appointed by President Hamid Karzai only in August.
Kandahar, which borders Pakistan, was the birthplace of the Taliban.
In late August, officials said the jail on the outskirts of the city was holding 50 to 60 "political inmates," a term usually used to describe Taliban members.
Some of that group were interviewed at the time by Reuters and all said they came from neighboring Pakistan, which Kabul accuses of sheltering Taliban guerrillas and leaders.
The Taliban have been blamed for a surge in violence across Afghanistan since August in which more than 300 people have died, including aid workers, government soldiers and police, U.S. troops and many guerrillas.
News of the escape comes days after Karzai and the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad denied reports earlier this week that former Taliban Foreign Minister Mullah Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil had been freed from U.S. custody for facilitating talks with Taliban officials in Kandahar.
A government official in Kandahar, who did not want to be named, said there could have been a connection between Muttawakil and the escape.
He said Muttawakil was briefly released on September 27 and visited his home in Kandahar and on the following day met Taliban officials in the Tor Kotal area of Kandahar province on behalf of the Americans. He gave no other details.
The United States is leading a 11,500-strong foreign force in Afghanistan force pursuing remnants of the Taliban and the allied al Qaeda network, which is blamed for the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Saturday, October 11, 2003 Posted: 9:30 AM EDT (1330 GMT)
Two decades of fighting have left Afghanistan in ruins.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Story Tools
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YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
Follow the news that matters to you. Create your own alert to be notified on topics you're interested in.
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) -- Forty-one Taliban prisoners tunneled out of jail in southern Afghanistan in a dramatic escape that is embarrassing for the government and presents yet another security headache in the troubled region.
The break-out from the main jail in the volatile southern city of Kandahar occurred on Friday night, the city's security chief General Salem told Reuters. He said all the prisoners were from one barracks of the jail, which houses some 400 prisoners.
"Last night, in the middle of the night, about 40 prisoners escaped through a 30-meter tunnel," he said. "They included some important Taliban -- one was the brother of Mawlavi Obaidullah."
Obaidullah was Taliban defense minister and has evaded capture since the hardline Islamists were overthrown by U.S.-led forces two years ago. In June, he was named as part of a 10-man leadership council by shadowy Taliban leader Mullah Omar.
Taliban spokesman Haji Abdul Latif said Obaidullah's brother was Mawlavi Abdullah and there were a total of 41 escapees, all of whom were from the Taliban.
Senior government intelligence official Attaullah Khan said it was possible some prison guards assisted the escape, but Latif said the prisoners acted alone.
Kandahar province has been the scene of many recent Taliban attacks that have curtailed aid and reconstruction work.
The escape will also be an embarrassment for the new governor for Kandahar, Yusuf Pashtun, who was appointed by President Hamid Karzai only in August.
Kandahar, which borders Pakistan, was the birthplace of the Taliban.
In late August, officials said the jail on the outskirts of the city was holding 50 to 60 "political inmates," a term usually used to describe Taliban members.
Some of that group were interviewed at the time by Reuters and all said they came from neighboring Pakistan, which Kabul accuses of sheltering Taliban guerrillas and leaders.
The Taliban have been blamed for a surge in violence across Afghanistan since August in which more than 300 people have died, including aid workers, government soldiers and police, U.S. troops and many guerrillas.
News of the escape comes days after Karzai and the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad denied reports earlier this week that former Taliban Foreign Minister Mullah Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil had been freed from U.S. custody for facilitating talks with Taliban officials in Kandahar.
A government official in Kandahar, who did not want to be named, said there could have been a connection between Muttawakil and the escape.
He said Muttawakil was briefly released on September 27 and visited his home in Kandahar and on the following day met Taliban officials in the Tor Kotal area of Kandahar province on behalf of the Americans. He gave no other details.
The United States is leading a 11,500-strong foreign force in Afghanistan force pursuing remnants of the Taliban and the allied al Qaeda network, which is blamed for the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.