Taliban Help Hundreds Tunnel Out of Prison's Political Wing
By TAIMOOR SHAH and ALISSA J. RUBIN
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - The Taliban staged an audacious prison break here early Monday, freeing at least 476 political prisoners through a long tunnel, according to the warden, Gen. Ghulam Dastagir Mayar.
He said that security authorities had discovered in the morning that the prisoners from the political wing of the building were gone, and that the authorities had just found the tunnel. "We do not know if the tunnel was dug from outside or inside the prison," he said.
The Kandahar prison is the largest and most substantial prison in southern Afghanistan, and it houses Taliban who were captured in Zabul, Oruzgan and Kandahar, including some senior Taliban figures as well as many lower level Taliban, according to security officers working with the prison.
It was the second time there has been a major prison break at the Sariposa prison in Kandahar. The Taliban orchestrated the freeing of 1,200 prisoners, of whom 350 were Taliban members, on June 13, 2008, staging an attack on the prison that killed 15 guards.
The break comes at a critical moment in the Taliban's fight in southern Afghanistan. Pushed out of their strongholds in the rural areas outside the city and under pressure from a large number of NATO troops who have fanned out into the villages, they have been able to maintain a presence, but nothing close to the dominant role they had even a year ago.
Bringing back a large cadre of experienced fighters, many of whom will have been able to refine their skills in prison, will give the Taliban leadership the flexibility and human resources to send fighters into new districts where there are fewer NATO troops and bolster their numbers in those closer to Kandahar.
A Taliban spokesman for the south and west of the country, Qari Yusuf Ahmadi, said that a total of 541 prisoners had escaped and that among them were 106 Taliban commanders. "Now they are all in safe havens," he said.
In a deft propaganda ploy, the Taliban gave a gripping description of the prison break in a statement they sent out to the news media ahead of any comment from the security authorities who were just in the process of discovering the tunnel.
Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said in the statement: "We have planned and worked on this for five months, and the tunnel is 360 meters long," he said. "This was very important for us; we were trying to not leave anyone behind, not even one sick or old political prisoner."
"Our mujahedeen worked in a very careful way" so as not to be discovered, Mr. Mujahid said. The tunnel wound under security check posts outside the prison and under a main highway.
At 11 p.m. Sunday, three Taliban prisoners, who he said were the only ones who knew, "Went from cell to cell waking people and guiding each of them to the tunnel. More Taliban were on hand as the prisoners emerged from the dirt and dust of the tunnel to guide the dazed prisoners to waiting vehicles. Also on hand were Taliban fighters and suicide bombers in case the security forces woke up and there was a fight.
"Luckily we did not have to use them," Mr. Mujahid said. "The security forces did not know until sunrise."
Taimoor Shah reported from Kandahar, and Alissa J. Rubin from Kabul, Afghanistan.
Allahu Akbar
ReplyDelete-Khalid
Allah is the protector Alhumdu Lillahi Rabil Alaimeen great news Allahu Akbar
ReplyDeleteThe Islamic Emirate Of Afghanistan:
ReplyDeleteKandahar Prison Broken Once Again; The Mystifying Battle Between Faith And Technology!!
Jamadi-ul-Awwal 21, 1432 A.H, Monday, April 25, 2011
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful.
The victorious and history producing soldiers of Allah under the leadership of Islamic Emirate have once again broken Kandahar prison, freeing more than 500 imprisoned Mujahideen which include tens of commanders, group leaders and high ranking officials and once again showed the triumph of the forces of mercy and faith over the technology plagued forces of Satan.
Mujahideen had started working on a 360 meter-long underground tunnel with great professionalism, dedication and secrecy, during which they bypassed highly secure check posts and Kandahar-Herat main highway before directly reaching their target, the prison’s political wing in a 5 month period, according to the latest information provided by the Mujahideen in Kandahar.
As planned earlier, the freeing of prisoners through the tunnel began at 11:00 pm last night when 3 previously informed inmates walked into each cell, woke up the Mujahideen and guided them to the tunnel, the process of which finished at around 03:30 am this morning when all the prisoners came out of the tunnel where they were escorted to secure destinations by vehicles.
Kandahar prison was previously broken into by Martyrdom seeking Mujahideen in the month of June 2008, breaking down its security barriers and killing dozens of security guards using an explosive-laden vehicle and heavy arms before freeing all its inmates. After this incident, the security personnel in Kabul’s stooge regime, in a failed attempt upgraded its security parameters by surrounding the prison with belts of security check posts, cameras and mobile patrol groups. The American’s and their hirelings never thought that the brave and daring Mujahideen would ever be able to free their comrades again, especially without any of the security personnel ever noticing or causing harm to any of the 500 prisoners who escaped through the tunnel. This is a sign of the help from the Almighty Allah, which no mind or technology can comprehend and this is considered as nothing more than the strike of the superiority of faith over material means.
This recent operation comes at a time when the echoes from the blow on the Ministry of Defense in Kabul are still ringing in the ears of the puppets in Kabul and their foreign masters while the theatrical drama of the blame game goes on between the two sides. The senate of Kabul regime wants the removal of the minister of defense (Raheem Wardag) from his office in connection with the incident while the high council and others go even further by proposing the changing and scrambling of all officials in security posts. But these people do not realize that they shall be witnesses to even more such Jihadic operations, which shall be even more dazzling and impressive than the previous, the blame of which shall not only force the defense minister to resign but also the “esteemed” head in Kabul! And the American commander supported by state of the art weapons, technology and overflowing dollars, who deceitfully boasts about securing Kandahar, should also ready himself for resignation and admit to his failures and defeat against the Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate.
The Islamic Emirate Of Afghanistan