Friday, March 16, 2007

Escape from UK-run prison in Iraq

The inmates escaped from a British military prison
Posted by BBC
Eleven detainees have escaped from a British military prison in southern Iraq, the British Army has said.
Ten of them had "swapped" places with visitors over the past week, an Army spokesman said.
Their disappearance from the Shuaiba military base, west of the southern city of Basra, was only noticed on Friday.
It was not immediately clear when or how the prisoners escaped. The prisoners had been held for two years.
UK military spokesman Major David Gell confirmed that there had been an escape but gave few details.
"We are aware of the incident and it is now under investigation. We will make a statement soon," he told the AFP news agency.
A security source told the agency that the prisoners had been held without charge for the past two years.
BBC defence correspondent Paul Wood, who is in Basra with the British Army, described it as "a very embarrassing incident" for the army.
He said: "It does not speak of very tight security given that the British Army says these people were considered to pose a threat to the security of Iraq and to the multi-national forces."
Thousands of Iraqis are held in US and British-run prisons across Iraq for security reasons

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