The Great Escape -- Afghan Style

Entrance To Kandahar Prison

From Yahoo News:

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - About 870 prisoners escaped during a Taliban bomb and rocket attack on the main prison in southern Afghanistan that knocked down the front gate and demolished a prison floor, Afghan officials said Saturday.

The police chief of Kandahar province, Sayed Agha Saqib, said 390 Taliban prisoners were among those who fled the prison during the attack late Friday.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force put the number of escapees slightly higher, at around 1,100, according to spokesman Brig. Gen. Carlos Branco. He conceded that the assault was a success.

Read more ....

News On The Prison Break From Other Sources:
Taleban jail raid frees hundreds -- BBC
Afghans hunt for prison escapees -- Reuters
Taleban raid frees 1,000 from Afghan jail -- Times Online
Hundreds of Taliban prisoners freed after attack on Afghan jail -- The Independent
Afghan forces hunt fugitives after Taliban jailbreak -- The Guardian
Afghan prison escape: Manhunt for Taliban fighters -- The Telegraph
Jail Break: Taliban Frees Inmates -- Time Magazine
Hundreds escape in Afghan prison attack -- MSNBC
Taliban attack on Kandahar prison frees 1,000 -- LA Times
Hundreds Escape Afghan Jail -- Washington Post
Taliban free 1,200 from Afghan prison -- International herald Tribune
Afghan forces hunt escaped Taliban prisoners -- CNN

Update: Bomb kills 4 US troops in Afghanistan -- Yahoo News
NATO again fails to substantially bolster Afghan mission -- International Herald Tribune

My Comment: the Washington Post's comments sum up this event precisely:

The prison is under the control of Afghan police, who are badly trained and underpaid, and the Interior Ministry, which is notoriously corrupt. The prison assault is another blow to the performance of the police force, which had lagged far behind the Afghan army in international aid and training despite playing a major role in security, especially in rural areas.

What is more worrisome, is the following observation:

A former defense intelligence analyst this month predicted a Taliban effort to seize Kandahar city as the major urban center in the ethnic Pashtun heartland. The report also cited a growing number of attacks around Kabul, the capital, as signifying efforts to spread the insurgency in and around large cities.

The Taliban, with their sanctuaries in Pakistan, the monies from their drug trade, and a culture of violence, corruption and intolerance will mean only one thing in the next few months .... more fighting and more deaths. This is now a full scale guerilla war.