Taliban claims responsibility for Afghan prison blast

A blast with smuggled-in explosives at a prison in western Afghanistan killed a guard and allowed 11 inmates to escape early yesterday, officials said. One prisoner was shot and killed while fleeing.

A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the jailbreak, saying it freed insurgent comrades being held there.

The explosives detonated shortly after 2 a.m., destroying a gate and allowing 23 prisoners to flee the building, Farah province's deputy governor, Yonus Rasouli, said. One prisoner died and three were wounded in an ensuing gun battle with guards. Eight other inmates were recaptured, but 11 escaped.

General Abdul Makhtar, deputy for Afghanistan's prison department, said one guard was killed.

"The prisoners managed somehow to bring explosives inside the prison," Mr Rasouli said. "It was a strong explosion. Everything was set up from inside the prison."