Claiming to have brought the prison escape fiasco under control, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa officials have confessed to the escape of 247 prisoners in Monday’s attack on the Dera Ismail Khan Central Prison.
“So far 14 of the escaped prisoners have been rearrested,” said Mushtaq Jadoon, the DI Khan commissioner.
He said forces had entered Peshawar jail while the identity of those who escaped had been determined.
Jadoon said curfew had been imposed across the city and a search operation was in progress.
According to officials, the total strength of prisoners in the facility was around 500 and 253 of them were present in the premises on Tuesday.
About casualties among the militants, the commissioner said four policemen, four prisoners and three passers-by were killed. He added that two militants were also killed during clashes. Jadoon said 13 people, including six policemen, were injured in the attack and were under treatment in hospital.
Sources revealed that the militants also picked five women, including a lady constable, from the DI Khan jail, adding that the four women had no link with any militant organisations but were involved in criminal acts.
The militants opted for a Bannu jail break-like procedure in the attack.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility and said, “Around 150 fighters took part in the attack and succeeded getting 300 prisoners freed.” Reliable sources told Pakistan Today that militants came aboard around 20 passenger coaches and more than 25 motorcycles.
On completion of the attack, they abandoned one of the vehicle and over a dozen motorcycles.
Reports from DI Khan said the militants remained inside the jail for around two hours and carried out around 60 blasts.
They targeted an armoured personnel carrier (APC) with rocket launchers and tore down the boundary walls and main gate of jail with hand grenades and other explosives.
The official said personnel of law enforcement agencies had recovered around 200 kilogrammes of explosives along with scores of rocket shells, hand grenades and other weapons.
As a result of a curfew, dwellers of DI Khan and its surroundings remained confined to their homes, while personnel of both armed and police forces remained engaged in search operation in the area.
High-ranking officials, including Home and Tribal Affairs Secretary Mohammad Azam Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General Ihsan Ghani, Additional Inspector General Special Branch Syed Akhtar Ali Shah and others visited the jail and took stock of the situation.
Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has already ordered a detailed inquiry into the attack.