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| Militants attack prison in NW Pakistan | Militants attack prison in NW Pakistan |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Taliban militants wearing police uniform have launched an assault on a prison in Pakistan, with reports that some prisoners have escaped. | |
| The attack on the jail in the north-western town of Dera Ismail Khan began with several explosions at around midnight on Monday. | |
| Gunmen then opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades and machine-guns, police chief Sohail Khalid said. | Gunmen then opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades and machine-guns, police chief Sohail Khalid said. |
| The prison houses hundreds of Taliban and militants from banned groups. | |
| A curfew was imposed in the town and operations are continuing to clear the militants from the prison. | |
| A local resident told the agency that the initial blast was so loud that "it rattled every house in the neighbourhood". | A local resident told the agency that the initial blast was so loud that "it rattled every house in the neighbourhood". |
| The attackers were chanting "God is great" and "Long live the Taliban", officials told the Associated Press. | |
| Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid has claimed responsibility for the attack. He said around 300 prisoners had been freed. | Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid has claimed responsibility for the attack. He said around 300 prisoners had been freed. |
| "The Taliban have loudspeakers and they are calling the names of their friends," the town's civil commissioner Mushtaq Jadoon said. | |
| Mr Jadoon was quoted as saying that more than 200 prisoners had escaped, six of whom were later re-arrested by police. | |
| He told the Pakistani ARY TV channel that militants had planted dozens of explosive devices in the jail and that 14 of them had so far been defused. | |
| Officials said that authorities had been aware of a threat to attack the prison in recent weeks. | Officials said that authorities had been aware of a threat to attack the prison in recent weeks. |
| Provincial prisons chief Khalid Abbas said he was not sure if any of the jail's 40 "high-profile" prisoners had escaped. | Provincial prisons chief Khalid Abbas said he was not sure if any of the jail's 40 "high-profile" prisoners had escaped. |
| Hundreds of inmates were freed in an assault on a prison in Bannu in northern Pakistan in April last year. | Hundreds of inmates were freed in an assault on a prison in Bannu in northern Pakistan in April last year. |
| Dera Ismail Khan is the main city in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, in Pakistan's restive, mountainous tribal region. | Dera Ismail Khan is the main city in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, in Pakistan's restive, mountainous tribal region. |
| Monday night's violence comes hours before Pakistani politicians are expected to choose the country's new president. | Monday night's violence comes hours before Pakistani politicians are expected to choose the country's new president. |
| The replacement for Asif Ali Zardari will be elected on Tuesday by the members of both houses of parliament and the four provincial assemblies. | The replacement for Asif Ali Zardari will be elected on Tuesday by the members of both houses of parliament and the four provincial assemblies. |