150 well-armed Taliban militants have staged a bloody assault on a Pakistani prison, freeing about 250 inmates. Among those who escaped during the jailbreak were a number of hardcore Taliban fighters, including about two dozen “dangerous terrorists”, according to officials. The attack began at around 11.30 p.m. on July 29, when the militants, some disguised as policemen, drove a motorcade of vehicles up to the prison compound at Dera Ismail Khan and blew the gates with mortar bombs or rocket-propelled grenades. No-one is yet certain how the convoy of heavily-armed fighters was able to pass through several security checkpoints en route. Chaos reigned at the prison for more than two hours as bombs were detonated, prisoners were freed, and security guards paid the ultimate price. The town’s commissioner, Mushtaq Jadoon, said that six policemen were killed and more than a dozen wounded during the raid. Two civilians were also killed, along with six Shia Muslim prisoners. One of these was reportedly beheaded. The Taliban, who’s “my way or the highway” approach to Sharia law has also manifested itself in several deadly attacks on Pakistani schools which dare to teach girls, regard the Shi’ite minority as heretics. CBS News reports that the raiders poured into the compound shouting “God is great” and “Long Live the Taliban”. Many were armed with guns, bombs and grenades, and eight of them wore suicide vests. Two of these vests were detonated, according to Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid. The mastermind who plotted the bloody assault is apparently Adnan Rasheed, a leading militant who was freed in a raid on a prison in the north-western town of Bannu in April 2012. Rasheed recently gained some notoriety went he sent a rambling, open letter to Malala Yousafzai, the teenager who was shot in the head by Taliban activists for her advocacy of women’s education. In the letter, Rasheed said that he regretted that Malala had been shot, but it was a necessary price for speaking ill of the Taliban. Anonymous commanders who contacted the Associated Press said that the raid, code-named “Freedom from Death”, had taken six months to plan and had cost 11.5 million rupees (about $115,000). As more information comes to light about the failure of authorities to defend the prison, it seems increasingly likely that part of that expense went towards ensuring government forces were looking the other Category:Home › Other • Pomegranates: A newly discovered superfood • Where did the joke why did the chicken cross the road come from and why is it funny? • Can mothers diagnosed with bipolar disorder make good parents? • Spiritual evolution of human consciousness • Tips for getting a college basketball scholarship • Living with Pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) • Caring for the caregiver • Technologys impact on society
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