This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/22/iraq-prison-attacks-kill-dozens

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Iraq prison attacks kill dozens Iraq: hundreds escape from Abu Ghraib jail
(about 20 hours later)
Jailbreak attempts at two large prisons outside Baghdad have claimed the lives of at least 25 members of Iraq's security forces, while a car bombing targeting soldiers early on Monday killed another 12, according to officials. Hundreds of convicts, including senior members of al-Qaida, broke out of Iraq's Abu Ghraib jail as comrades launched a military-style assault to free them, authorities said on Monday.
The prison attacks that began late on Sunday in Taji and Abu Ghraib, were the latest indication of deteriorating security conditions across the country. Authorities said on Monday that government forces were continuing to comb surrounding areas for attackers. The deadly raid on the high-security jail happened as Sunni Muslim militants are regaining momentum in their insurgency against the Shia-led government.
Attackers detonated bombs and lobbed mortar rounds at Taji prison, 12 miles(20km) north of Baghdad. A suicide car bomber then attacked the main gate while another suicide bomber blew himself up nearby, sparking clashes between militants and the guards, according to police. Suicide bombers drove cars packed with explosives to the gates of the prison on the outskirts of Baghdad on Sunday night and blasted their way into the compound, while gunmen attacked guards with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.
As the battle raged for about two hours outside, rioting inmates set fire to blankets and furniture, police said. Other militants took up positions near the main road, fighting off security reinforcements sent from Baghdad as militants wearing suicide vests entered the prison on foot to help free the inmates.
Fifteen soldiers were killed and 13 others were wounded in the Taji attack, they said. At least six among the militants were also reported killed. Ten policemen and four militants were killed in the ensuing clashes, which continued until Monday morning, when military helicopters arrived, helping to regain control.
A similar raid unfolded at the prison in Abu Ghraib in Baghdad's western suburbs. Insurgents there struck the prison walls with mortar rounds and a car bomb, and at least one militant blew himself up at the main gate. By that time, hundreds of inmates had succeeded in fleeing Abu Ghraib, the prison made notorious a decade ago by photographs showing abuse of prisoners by US soldiers.
Ten police officers were killed and 19 others were wounded, they added. Four militants were reported killed in that attack. "The number of escaped inmates has reached 500, most of them were convicted senior members of al-Qaida and had received death sentences," Hakim al-Zamili, a senior member of the security and defence committee in parliament, told Reuters.
Security forces reported finding undetonated car bombs and explosive belts used by suicide bombers near both prisons after the attacks. "The security forces arrested some of them, but the rest are still free."
Local media and jihadist internet forums reported some prisoners had managed to escape, but authorities have not reported any breakouts. One security official told Reuters on condition of anonymity: "It's obviously a terrorist attack carried out by al-Qaida to free convicted terrorists."
A surge of attacks has killed more than 450 Iraqis since the start of Ramadan on 10 July. It comes amid a larger spike in bloodshed in recent months that is raising fears of a return to the widespread sectarian killing that pushed the country to the brink of civil war after the 2003 US-led invasion. A simultaneous attack on another prison, in Taji, around 12 miles north of Baghdad, followed a similar pattern, but guards managed to prevent any inmates escaping. Sixteen soldiers and six militants were killed.
/>
/>Sunni insurgents, including the al-Qaida-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq, have been regaining strength in recent months and striking on an almost daily basis against Shia Muslims and security forces amongst other targets.
The violence has raised fears of a return to full-blown conflict in a country where Kurds, Shia and Sunni Muslims have yet to find a stable way of sharing power.

Relations between Islam's two main denominations have been put under further strain from the civil war in Syria, which has drawn in Shia and Sunni fighters from Iraq and beyond to fight against each other.
Nearly 600 people have been killed in militant attacks across Iraq so far this month, according to violence monitoring group Iraq Body Count.
Recent attacks have targeted mosques, amateur football matches, shopping areas and cafes where people gather to socialise after breaking their daily fast for the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe.Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe.
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox every weekday.Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox every weekday.