KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, (Reuters) – Hundreds of prisoners escaped from a jail in Afghanistan’s south yesterday through a tunnel dug by Taliban insurgents, officials said, a “disaster” for the Afghan government and a setback for foreign forces planning to start a gradual withdrawal within months.
Tooryalai Wesa, governor of volatile southern Kandahar province, told Reuters 488 prisoners escaped due to the negligence of Afghan security forces at the province’s main jail. He said the tunnel led to a nearby house.
The Taliban said in a statement that 541 prisoners escaped through the tunnel, which took months to construct, and were