11 prisoners escape from US detention centre
Eleven detainees escaped early today from Iraq’s Camp Bucca prison, but 10 were believed to have been caught hours later, the US military and Iraqi police said.
One of the detained prisoners said the group escaped through a hole in the fence surrounding the US detention centre, the largest in Iraq with 6,000 prisoners.
“We decided to flee the prison because of the bad treatment and delay in investigations,” 24-year-old Hussein Nima said. The prisons have come under criticism for holding prisoners indefinitely.
Lt Col Guy Rudisill, a military spokesman, said officials confirmed that 11 prisoners were missing after discovering the hole.
Officials immediately began a search, and 10 people believed to be among the missing prisoners were detained by Iraqi police a few hours later, Rudisill said.
Rudisill declined to release information on why the 11 were being held.
The escape came two days after a melee among prisoners left one detainee dead and injured dozens of others, the US military said.
Nima said the fight was between US soldiers and prisoners.
Last month, the US military said guards discovered a 600ft tunnel – dug with makeshift tools – leading out of Camp Bucca. Authorities said the tunnel reached beyond the compound fence, with an opening hidden beneath a floorboard, but no one had escaped.
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