Iraqi forces thwart prison break after tunnel discovered

Iraqi security forces foiled a prison break attempt in a major prison in west of Baghdad after they discovered an unfinished tunnel dug by the inmates, a Justice Ministry official said on Sunday. "The guards of Baghdad Central Prison, previously named Abu Ghraib prison, thwarted a prison break plan after they discovered a tunnel with a width of 2.5 meters and a length of 17 meters dug by the inmates," Haider al-Saadi, spokesman of the ministry told reporters here. He said that the guards discovered the tunnel at about 2:00 a.m. local time (2300 GMT on Saturday), when one of them heard sounds of digging and hammering. "The minister of justice instructed to refer the director of the prison and the officials responsible for the section of the incident to an investigation to specify whether there is any collaboration between the officials and the inmates," Saadi said. The notorious Abu Ghraib prison is seen by Iraqis as a torture center under the regime of Saddam Hussein and later a symbol of American abuse of some Iraqi prisoners during the early years after the U.S.-led invasion of the country in 2003. Prison breaks and riots frequently occurred in several Iraqi- run prisons across the country in the past few years that resulted in the killing and wounding of many prisoners and security men as well as the escape of many dangerous prisoners.