2 killed, 31 escape in Philippine jailbreak

MANILA. December 14. KAZINFORM. Scores of suspected militants burst through a concrete wall then barged into a jail in the volatile southern Philippines on Sunday, freeing 31 inmates in a nighttime attack that sparked a gunbattle in which two people were killed; Kazinform refers to Arab News.
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Vice Gov. Al Rasheed Sakalahul of Basilan Island said 70 heavily armed men cut through padlocks with bolt-cutters after using a sledgehammer to destroy the wall at the provincial jail in Isabela city to free several detained militants. Other inmates also dashed to freedom, he said.

The daring assault sparked a brief clash that killed one attacker and a jail guard. The attackers and prisoners fled in several vehicles toward Basilan's jungle-covered mountainous heartland, Sakalahul said. At least 31 inmates escaped, including five militants from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a rebel group engaged in peace talks with the government, and 12 from the smaller but more from Abu Sayyaf group, regional military commander Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino said.

Among those who escaped was Dan Asnawi, a Moro rebel commander, and another militant who have been accused of beheading 10 marines during a 2007 clash, regional marine spokesman Maj. Joel Lazo said.

"All these are high-risk prisoners," Sakalahul said, adding troops, backed by air force helicopters, were closing in on some of the fleeing inmates. None had been caught by late Sunday, however.

Military checkpoints were set up in Isabela, the provincial capital, and nearby townships, Dolorfino said; Kazinform cites Arab News. See www.arabnews.com for full version.

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