SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraqi Minister of Interior Othman al-Ghanmi ordered on Sunday the formation of a higher committee to investigate escapes of 21 prisoners from a prison in Muthanna province.
As many as 21 inmates charged with terrorism and drug trafficking escaped from al-Hilal prison in Muthanna governorate on Saturday, according to Iraqi authorities.
Iraqi security forces managed to detain 10 prisoners and have launched a manhunt for the other 11 inmates who are still at large, the state news agency INA reported on Sunday.
The interior minister immediately “ordered the confinement to the barracks of all officers and police” at Hilal district prison in Muthanna province, according to AFP.
He also ordered the formation of a higher investigative committee led by the ministry’s assistant undersecretary for intelligence and federal investigations, Lieutenant General Imad Mohammed, to investigate the prison escape.
The governor of Muthanna has announced financial rewards for information on the escapees, INA reported.
It was not immediately clear how the prisoners broke out, but in corruption-riddled Iraq, escapes are often achieved by paying off security forces.
In March, men from a powerful pro-Iran armed group disguised as soldiers freed a drug trafficking under police escort while en route to court in Amara, another town in rural southern Iraq.
