Militants have attacked two Iraqi prisons, freeing at least 500 inmates and leaving 40 people dead

Militants have attacked two Iraqi prisons, freeing at least 500 inmates and leaving 40 people dead

Militants have attacked two Iraqi prisons, freeing at least 500 inmates and leaving 40 people dead

"The mujahideen (holy warriors), after months of preparation and planning, targeted two largest prisons with the Safavid government," the gang said in a statement posted with a jihadist forum, employing a pejorative term for Shi'ites.

The statement on Tuesday claimed that "hundreds" of inmates, among them 500 militants, were freed inside the attacks for the prisons in Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad, and Taji, north with the Iraqi capital.

What's more, it declared that the operation was the ultimate one inch a campaign targeted at freeing prisoners and targeting justice system officials, which was required within an audio statement attributed to the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a year ago.

A senior Iraqi security official said initial information revealed that the incident began on Sunday night when prisoners rose up and seized weapons and after that contacted militants waiting outside the prisons.

The waiting militants then attacked with mortar rounds, bombs and gunfire, sparking clashes that raged for 10 hours.

No less than 20 security forces members and 21 inmates died in the unrest.

No less than 500 prisoners were able to escape, based on Iraqi MPs.