Three Taliban insurgents have escaped from a prison in northern Afghanistan, using pistols and grenades smuggled into the facility.
A spokesman for the Faryab provincial government, Ahmad Jawad Dedar, said on April 18 that the jailbreak took place the previous night in the regional capital, Maimana.
At least two guards and a fourth inmate who was also trying to escape were killed in a shootout during the escape.
Dedar said the fugitives are low-level Taliban operatives who were jailed for planting roadside bombs.
He said authorities have launched a search for the fugitives and are investigating how the weapons got past prison security.
The Taliban confirmed the incident.
A spokesman for the Faryab provincial government, Ahmad Jawad Dedar, said on April 18 that the jailbreak took place the previous night in the regional capital, Maimana.
At least two guards and a fourth inmate who was also trying to escape were killed in a shootout during the escape.
Dedar said the fugitives are low-level Taliban operatives who were jailed for planting roadside bombs.
He said authorities have launched a search for the fugitives and are investigating how the weapons got past prison security.
The Taliban confirmed the incident.