158 Inmates Escape In Philippine Prison Break
MEP: More than 150 inmates have escaped from a prison in southern Philippines, after gunmen launched an attack, killing one guard before dawn Wednesday, according to officials.
Acting Provincial Jail Warden Supt. Peter John Bongngat Jr. said a guard was killed and an inmate was wounded in an initial gun battle when dozens of gunmen stormed the North Cotabato District Jail in Kidapawan in one of the country’s largest jailbreaks in recent years. Kidapawan city in Cotabato Province is about 580 miles southeast of the capital Manila.
Around 1:15 a.m. local time (12.15 p.m. Tuesday ET) more than 100 armed men attacked the facility, he said. The firefight lasted two hours.
The Philippines, which is predominantly Catholic, has battled separatists in the south for decades, amid kidnappings, violence and jailbreaks.
Groups like the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Abu Sayyaf have conducted terror attacks as well as kidnapping tourists for ransom.
Philippine military and police have launched a manhunt for the escaped inmates.
The jail held more than 1,500 inmates, including Bangsamoro members facing murder charges for a series of bombings in the province, officials said. It was the third attack in the provincial jail facility since 2007.
