Pakistan: Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) free hundreds of prisoners in a major attack on a prison in Dera Ismail Khan
Militants belonging to the Pakistani Taliban and disguised in police uniforms launched an attack, late on Monday, on a prison in Dera Ismail Khan, a city in Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, and managed to free at least 247 prisoners.
Banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, used rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns to launch the attack on the prison, which is located near South Waziristan, Pakistan’s lawless tribal region along the border with Afghanistan, news reports said.
About 11 people were killed and nine others were wounded in the assault.
The casualties so far include five policemen, four prisoners and two private security guards, Pakistan’s Dawn News reported, adding that a search for the fugitives is ongoing. Pakistan’s security forces, backed by the army, reportedly fought the militants for several hours before regaining control of the prison.