ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Seven inmates died and several more were wounded in a fire following an attempted prison break at a Duhok jail which houses convicted terrorists.
“Someone named Saddam Jasim Hamad, having three death sentence verdicts on charges of terror, has created the riot by engaging in a brawl with police guards of their ward,” Duhok governor Farhad Atrushi told reporters in a press conference.
“After the police blocked the door from them as they tried to break it, he had called on other inmates from the ward to help him, thus the fight erupted,” the governor said.
“When they were blocked by the police, Saddam had set the ward on fire, killing seven,” he added.
Zirka Prison chief Col. Mohammed (pictured second from the right), who sustained facial injuries in the riot, attends a press conference in Duhok, May 26, 2018. Photo: Rudaw
Ten to 15 other inmates, as well as three policemen and the head of Zirka Prison, were wounded in the incident. Authorities suspect the inmates were trying to escape the prison ward, which exclusively holds convicted terrorists, Atrushi added.
“It was not a fight between Kurds and Arabs,” he said, denying earlier reports of a brawl. “All those who died were from suffocation due to smoke.”
He assured the families of other inmates that their loved ones are safe and the incident has ended.
An investigation has been launched.
Zirka Prison holds 1,500 inmates.
Updated at 7.30 P.M.
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