More than 100 Muslim rebels attacked a jail in Philippines on Wednesday making it the biggest jailbreak in the country. Officials have stated that 158 inmates have escaped due to the incident that took place in Kidapawan the southern part of the country.
According to NBC News, six people were reported to be shot dead when the unpleasant incident led to an open gunfire. Out of those six people a guard was killed and other inmates were also found wounded.
Dozens of gunmen ambushed the North Cotabato District Jail in Kidapawan city, which is located around 580 miles southeast from the capital. The Cotabato Province have witnessed a massive jailbreak for the first time, out of the six people who were killed in the shootout five are said to be escapees.
The police have managed to capture another eight inmates who were on the run and returned them to the facility. Senior inspector Xavier Solda said that gunmen came through the forest heavily armed and attacked the prison under the cover of darkness reported Fox News.
The acting Provincial Jail Warden Supt. Peter John Bongngat Jr. said there were about 20 prison guards on duty at that moment, out of which one guard was killed. The gunfire continued for hours after the attack while the army troops along with the police in armored tanks hunted through the forests for the rebels and the escaped prisoners.
The jail had more than 1500 prisoners, including criminals who were facing murder charges. This has been the third attack since 2007; the attackers are suspected members of outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters. These are people who broke away from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
The Philippines police are taking further steps to capture the escaped inmates and the attackers. The suspected Muslim rebels who attacked the jail fled into the forest and escaped.
