Armed men believed
to have links with a Muslim rebel group
stormed a jail facility in North Cotabato in the southern Philippines early on
Wednesday and freed about 132
inmates, officials said.
Supt. Peter Bungat,
warden of Amas of Kidapawan District jail, told radio station that gunmen led
by a certain Commander Derbie opened fire at his men guarding the facility
around 1:00 a.m. local time, leaving one of his men dead and another wounded.
Bungat confirmed
that 132 out of their 1,511 inmates managed to escape.
“It’s well planned.
Escapees used blanket as their getaway. There’s ongoing clearing operation. We
have manhunt operation,” he said.
Bungat said
Commander Derbie belongs to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
“We have no idea
right now if there were any high profiles in the 132 inmates that escaped. We
are still accounting our prisoners,” he said.
In August last year,
three inmates facing charges of illegal possession of explosives and illegal
drugs also escaped from the same jail facility.
In 2009, three
“high-profile” criminals behind the shopping mall bomb attack in 2007 also
escaped from the jail in Amas.
On Feb. 3, 2007 an
armed group attacked the same jail, freeing 49 inmates most of them
high-profile criminals.
NAN
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