Militants from a radical Islamist group that fought deadly battles with the Lebanese army in 2007 escaped from the country’s main jail on Saturday, the state-run agency reported. “Four inmates belonging to Fatah al-Islam and a fifth man, a Sudanese national, escaped from Ward D in the Roumieh prison” northeast of the capital Beirut, the National News Agency said.
Troops had surrounded the notorious prison as helicopters flew overhead, it added. Security officials were not immediately available for comment.
