Hundreds Of Insurgents Freed In Prison Attack In Afghanistan
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban militants have attacked the main prison in southern Afghanistan, helping hundreds of suspected insurgents escape.
Officials say the militants attacked with bombs and rockets. They say there was a truck bombing at the main gate, a suicide bombing at the back wall, and rockets fired from outside. The explosions rattled Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second-biggest city.
Officials say many police officers are reported killed.
A Taliban spokesman says 30 insurgents and two suicide bombers attacked the prison and freed about 400 Taliban members.
The city was the Taliban’s former stronghold. It’s in an area that’s been the scene of fierce fighting the past two years between insurgents and NATO troops.
The attack came just hours after Defense Secretary Robert Gates told his counterparts in Europe that NATO members need to boost their military effort in Afghanistan.
