Theory of inside job in Afghan prison break
July 13, 2005
Kabul: Hundreds of US and Afghan troops backed by helicopters hunted yesterday for four alleged al-Qaeda militants who escaped from the heavily guarded prison at Bagram air base.
Following the escape on Monday, the US military said it would conduct an investigation into the breakout.
"It is a very serious matter for us," Lieutenant-Colonel Jerry O'Hara said, asked if the escapees might have received inside help from guards. "We will carry out an investigation on the issue certainly."
The escape is the first known from the base and a serious embarrassment for the US military.
Colonel O'Hara refused to identify the four men, referring to them as"dangerous enemy combatants".
But Afghan officials named the men as Abdullah Hashimi, a Syrian, Mahmoud Ahmad Mohammad, a Kuwaiti, Saudi Mahmoud Alfatahni, a Saudi Arabian, and Mohammad Hassan, a Libyan.
The US military provided Afghan security forces with photographs of the escapees, which showed bearded men in orange prison uniforms whose ages appeared to range from 20 to 40.
Kabir Ahmad, the chief of Bagram district, said he had heard the men might have escaped the base by a car.
The Bagram jail has housed hundreds of militant suspects since US-led forces overthrew the Taliban in late 2001 for refusing to give up Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks.
They have included senior al-Qaeda suspects arrested in neighbouring Pakistan and elsewhere.
A US military spokeswoman said at the weekend that about 450 militant suspects were now being held there.
Reuters
http://smh.com.au/news/world/theory-of-inside-job-in-afghan-prison-break/2005/07/12/1120934245507.html
Kabul: Hundreds of US and Afghan troops backed by helicopters hunted yesterday for four alleged al-Qaeda militants who escaped from the heavily guarded prison at Bagram air base.
Following the escape on Monday, the US military said it would conduct an investigation into the breakout.
"It is a very serious matter for us," Lieutenant-Colonel Jerry O'Hara said, asked if the escapees might have received inside help from guards. "We will carry out an investigation on the issue certainly."
The escape is the first known from the base and a serious embarrassment for the US military.
Colonel O'Hara refused to identify the four men, referring to them as"dangerous enemy combatants".
But Afghan officials named the men as Abdullah Hashimi, a Syrian, Mahmoud Ahmad Mohammad, a Kuwaiti, Saudi Mahmoud Alfatahni, a Saudi Arabian, and Mohammad Hassan, a Libyan.
The US military provided Afghan security forces with photographs of the escapees, which showed bearded men in orange prison uniforms whose ages appeared to range from 20 to 40.
Kabir Ahmad, the chief of Bagram district, said he had heard the men might have escaped the base by a car.
The Bagram jail has housed hundreds of militant suspects since US-led forces overthrew the Taliban in late 2001 for refusing to give up Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks.
They have included senior al-Qaeda suspects arrested in neighbouring Pakistan and elsewhere.
A US military spokeswoman said at the weekend that about 450 militant suspects were now being held there.
Reuters
http://smh.com.au/news/world/theory-of-inside-job-in-afghan-prison-break/2005/07/12/1120934245507.html
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 4:02 AM
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