"At 02:30 am last night, while the counter-terrorism forces were protecting the transportation of a number of terrorist prisoners to Suse prison, they were attacked by heavily armed gunmen. The forces responded and as a result 1 person was killed, 3 injured, and 5 who had participated in the attack were detained and are being interrogated," read a statement issued by the counterterrorism forces of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) on Monday.
The prisoners were being transferred from a federal prison in Chamchamal, which has been ordered closed by Iraq’s Ministry of the Interior, to Fort Suse Federal Prison in Peramagroon, Sulaimani.
"The clashes took place due to a misunderstanding that led to the death of one person and two injuries," Ramk Ramazan, the mayor of Chamchamal, told Rudaw.
The gunmen are from Chamchamal, 104 km southeast of Erbil. They had a contract with the Iraqi government to provide food and basic essentials to the prisoners and feared they would not be financially reimbursed if the prisoners are removed from Chamchamal, Rudaw has learned.
Most of the prisoners are charged with terrorism-related crimes. They were being moved on request from the Iraqi government.
"The counterterrorism forces were transporting the prisoners under the auspices of the KRG and were planned to be transported to Suse prison, but problems occurred between them and some gunmen who were working in the prison," Samir Hawrami, media officer for Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, told Rudaw.
The federal prison in Chamchamal, known as the White Castle, used to hold 3,000 prisoners. The Iraqi government recently decided to close down the prison and asked the KRG to help with transporting the prisoners to the Fort Suse federal facility in Sulaimani.
Some 200 prisoners are transported weekly. Both prisons are under the authority of the Iraqi government.
Fort Suse prison is located between Sulaimani and Dukan. It was built as a military base in the 1980s by the former Iraqi regime. In 2004, US forces renovated the facility and used it to house important prisoners from across Iraq.
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