At least 30 inmates and a half-dozen guards are dead following a prison break in eastern Iraq, authorities reported to The Associated Press on Saturday.
Between 40 and 50 other prisoners managed to escape during the attack at Khalis prison; at least nine of the inmates had been convicted on terrorism charges, and some are reportedly members of the Islamic State. BBC News notes that there are conflicting reports of how the prison break began. Officials say fighting initially broke out between the prisoners, and that the inmates turned on guards who came to restore order. But some local sources said ISIS militants in trucks stormed the prison in a bid to free their comrades.
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