‘Dozens dead’ in Iraq prison break

Six guards and 30 prisoners have died in a prison break in Iraq, the country’s interior ministry has said.

Forty inmates escaped from the jail in Khalis, northeast of Baghdad, including members of Islamic State (IS).

The trouble began when prisoners started fighting, and when guards intervened they were attacked and stripped of their weapons, police said.

Iraq has seen a number of prison breaks, but are usually caused by militants seeking to free comrades.

In this case though the interior ministry stressed there had been no external assault.

A security official told the BBC that some of the prisoners had planned the escape.

Nine of those who got away were being held on terrorism charges, including members of Islamic State. The rest, officials said, were common criminals.

Grisly pictures have been circulating on social media, with some commentators suggesting a massacre took place at the prison.

The Iraqi government is facing ongoing security challenges, and is battling IS militants who have captured large parts of the country.

Over 500 inmates, including leading Islamists, escaped from the Abu Ghraib prison west of Baghdad in 2013 after gunmen stormed the facility. BBC