GHAZNI, Sept 14 : Taliban insurgents in military uniform set off a car bomb and stormed an Afghan prison on Monday, freeing hundreds of inmates and killing four policemen in the country's largest jailbreak in years.
The brazen attack in the eastern city of Ghazni comes as the Taliban ramp up attacks on government and foreign targets despite being embroiled in a bitter leadership transition.
The raid is the Taliban's third mass prison break since 2008 and marks a major blow to Afghan forces facing their first fighting season without full NATO support.
"Around 2:30 am six Taliban insurgents wearing military uniforms attacked Ghazni prison. First they detonated a car bomb in front of the gate, fired an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) and then raided the prison," deputy provincial governor Mohammad Ali Ahmadi told AFP.
The interior ministry said 355 of the prison's 436 inmates escaped. Most were Taliban and other militants.
It added that four Afghan police officers were killed and seven wounded in the raid which left bullet-riddled bodies at the entrance of the prison.     ?AFP