Four al-Qaeda-linked detainees have escaped from a Baghdad-area prison that was handed over by the US to Iraqi authorities a week ago, Iraq’s justice minister said on Thursday — a daring escape that embarrasses a government struggling to prove it is capable of operating without US oversight.
Dara Noureddin said the four, awaiting trial on terrorism charges, escaped from the high security prison formerly known as Camp Cropper.
The escape is the second to come to light in Iraq in about a week, and spotlights concerns about how prepared Iraqi authorities are to take full control of the country as US combat forces are to be sharply scaled back by next month.
The July 15 handover by US forces of the prison that once held Saddam Hussein and other senior members of his regime marked a milestone for Iraq’s push to regain full sovereignty.
Noureddin did not identify the men who escaped, but said they had been arrested by US forces following a clash with the men in 2008 in western Iraq.
Two Iraqi intelligence officials and a third in the Interior Ministry who are knowledgeable about the case said authorities believe the four men — who they identified as al-Qaeda members — were aided by the prison official in charge of their block.
The intelligence officials said the four were discovered missing on Tuesday during an evening roll call.
When prison staff went to inform the unit head, they found that he too was missing. He has not reported for work since, the officials said.
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