Taliban bust out

last updated 8 January 2015

Kandahar, Afghanistan

More than 40 Taliban inmates tunneled out of a high-security prison in the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar this week. Kandahar Gov. Mohammad Yusof Pashtun said the escape must have been aided by prison officials, five of whom are missing. Digging a 30-yard tunnel, Pashtun said, is “clearly not something you can do in a day or two—it would have taken at least a month.” Mullah Sabir, a Taliban commander, confirmed to reporters that his men paid bribes of $2,000 per prisoner to facilitate the escape. The prisoners had been arrested in the past few months, during fighting with Afghan government forces.