More on this story. It is not entirely clear whether the "daggers" the inmates attacked guards with were conventional or improvised weapons. But as this report details, there was much more going on than that, and therefore an even higher level of coordination, some means of communication with the outside, and clearly a channel for contraband.
And one would assume this was purportedly a maximum- or high-security prison. "Dozens of Islamist militants tunnel out of Yemeni prison," by Mohammed al-Qadhi and Peter Finn for the Washington Post, June 22:
SANAA, Yemen — More than 60 Islamist militants tunneled out of a prison in Yemen on Wednesday in a well-executed escape that highlighted the security risks in a nation that is increasingly unstable and home to al-Qaeda’s most potent regional affiliate.
The prison break, which occurred in the eastern port city of Mukalla, was coordinated with militants attacking from the outside to divert the guards — a tactic that al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, also known as AQAP, used last summer to free prisoners in the southern city of Aden.
Among the escapees Wednesday were members of an al-Qaeda cell that has killed foreign tourists and tried to attack the U.S. Embassy in Yemen and other Western targets, according to Yemeni officials. AQAP was behind the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound commercial flight on Christmas Day 2009 and the mailing of bombs on cargo planes destined for the United States.
The prison break could reinject committed fighters into the group’s ranks. Yemeni officials have not released a list of escapees, but one official told The Washington Post that 57 of the 62 men, many of whom fled into nearby mountains, had been convicted on terrorism charges and that some had been sentenced to death.
One is the loneliest number. 62 is a very worrying number:
“Even as we don’t know exactly who escaped yet, 62 is a very worrying number,” said Barbara Bodine, a former U.S. ambassador to Yemen and a diplomat in residence at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. “The potential for destruction and disruption is high, although AQAP’s ability to be a political force, in whatever small area they control, is very limited.”
The prison in Mukalla, which is about 300 miles east of Aden, held up to 100 convicts who were associated with al-Qaeda or who had been imprisoned after returning from Iraq, where they had joined the insurgency against the U.S.-led coalition, according to Yemeni officials. They said two Syrians and two Saudis were among those who escaped.
The inmates dug the 50-yard tunnel themselves, said one jail official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give details of the escape.
They attacked a guard with daggers, snatched his gun and fired it as they were making their escape, the official said. One guard was fatally shot, and another was wounded. At the same time, militants attacked from the outside, and a gun battle raged for 30 minutes while the prisoners fled....
Off topic but 'hot': Geert Wilders acquitted on all counts.
STOP THE PRESS...
GEERT WILDERS AQUITTED ON ALL COUNTS
Fantastic!!!!:-)
I just heard that.
Wow.
Kudos to his defence team, especially his lawyer.
I hope they're enjoying a nice Dutch beer in celebration.
Me, I'll celebrate too (you must imagine me getting up from my computer chair and dancing in circles round the room):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtxVOdQuRoo&feature=related
More than 60 Islamist militants tunneled out...
Tunneled in is more like it. Tunneling into the body politic of humanity, yeah sure fake escapes and friends in need and all of that, but tunneling with a job to do, with a light at the end of the tunnel. A world to take over. One step at a time, releasing themselves from the pokey to force others to say okey-dokey, as in convert, submit or die.
*** 33:21 ***
I wonder what Joy Behar, Jon Stewart and Ellen DeGenneres will have to say on their shows today about this daring escape.
Did the escapees have hot sex while in the pokey? That's gotta hurt. Maybe now that they're on the outside it'll be even better for them.
Fantastic news about Geert Wilders! Will wait for details in a separate story.
On the story about Yemen escapees, how many of them had been returned to Yemen from Gitmo, I wonder?
Sixty-two were there? I assume there is now a rush order on its way to General Atomics for sixty-two new Predators and Reapers.
Yesterday Obama announced his plan for a pull out from Afghanistan to coincide with the election next year. Supposedly the Taliban and Al-Qaeda are no longer a danger to the country, and the government will be able to stand on its own. Good luck with that. Does he think anyone buys this story?
What a mess.
Praise GOD, Holland has a chance at life! Freedom has not died. Yemen however is descending into the abyss of terrorism, anarchy and death!
I just heard that.
The fact that such a piece of sheet show trial could take place at all was a big victory for the Moslems. In fact, it's probably a bigger victory on balance to let Wilders off on these false and illegal charges.
*** 33:21 ***
I wonder how actual Yale Law grad Hillary is doing on implementing her assent to the "it's a felony to criticize Moslems" OIC resolution over at the UN. But I don't think Spencer has to worry about going up on federal charges. The bureaucrats would probably charge Glenn Beck instead, cuz the paper shuffler crowd in D.C. prefers weaker targets.
Sorta like big game hunting at game "preserve," shooting turkeys in a barrel.
Yeah APF, they ain't no Jim Corbetts. .he took out big cats face-to-face to save villagers, wrote 'Man-Eaters of the Kumaon', and has the tiger-reserve as a legacy.
Well, we all said 'Go Geert', and he did...Congratulations Geert, the path to the top spot is now wide open...
'The prison break could reinject committed fighters into the group’s ranks'.
No kidding?...The word 'could' is wrong, it should be 'will'...
Good news in the Wilders trial, I think.
I say "I think", because I remember the O.J. trial in the U.S. O.J. was found "not guilty" on the criminal charge of murder of his ex-wife, but that laid him open to a civil suit by her relatives, in which he had to pay several million dollars in damages. If he'd been found guilty in the criminal trial, there could have been no civil trial, since that would have been double jeopardy. Of course, he'd have been behind bars for many years. I don't know if the legal system in the Netherlands allows this, but could Wilders now be open to a civil suit? I often thought that, if the trial were in an American court, the best solution might be to find him guilty, and fine him one dollar; then there could have been no civil suit.
About time. He should never have been brought to court in the first place. You can cast aspersions on anyone, anywhere, in Europe, the Jews and Israel most especially (I exaggerate only a little) but if you speak truth about Islam and Islamism you'll be in trouble.
Alarmed Pig Farmer wrote:
I wonder what Joy Behar, Jon Stewart and Ellen DeGenneres will have to say on their shows today about this daring escape.
..............................
Of course, most Western media won't bother to cover this story at all, APF—certainly, none of the above will.
Maybe this was one of those "shovel-ready" projects Obama promised us?
GI, there is a relative fresh story about this over at Huffinton Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/23/geert-wilders-anti-islamic-dutch-politician-acquitted-hate-speech_n_882849.html . Most of the comments are actually in favor of Wilders, although there are a few idiotic remarks from the knee-jerk IslamoLeftist crowd.
Ha, the Islamic version for "Hoghan's Heroes" with the SGT. Ahmed and Col.Khlunk that saw "Nothing....Nothing".