Iraq prison staff detained over jailbreak

[March 24, 2012]  SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq (AP) -- An Iraqi police official says prison officials and guards have been detained after 17 prisoners including 10 al-Qaida-affiliated detainees broke out of jail in a northern Iraqi city.

Police on Saturday said the entire staff of the detention center is being questioned as part of the investigation into the prison break in the city of Kirkuk on Friday.

A police official said that one of the escaped prisoners has been recaptured.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

Kirkuk is located 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Baghdad. The oil-rich city has seen sporadic insurgent violence and ongoing tensions between the region's three main groups -- Kurds, Arabs and Turkomen.

[Associated Press; By YAHYA BARZANJI]

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