Armed men free 158 detainees from Philippine jail
Baku, January 4, AZERTAC
Armed men stormed the North Cotabato provincial jail in Kidapawan City, Philippines, at midnight Tuesday and set free 158 detainees after an hour-long firefight with guards, the third in just a decade, according to philstar.com, a Philippine news portal.
Superintendent Peter Bungat, provincial jail warden, said the attack began with a power outage that plunged the facility into darkness, followed by heavy gunfire aimed at the buildings inside its fenced compound.
Bungat said one of his subordinates, Jail Officer 1 Hexel Rey Desibo, was killed in the ensuing encounter with the gunmen who attacked from the rear of the jail compound.
“It was not a jailbreak. It was a planned rescue of certain detainees,” he said.
An inmate initially identified only as Jarao was wounded in the crossfire. He was immediately rushed to a hospital by responding barangay officials and policemen.
The jail, also known as the Cotabato District Jail, is located inside the provincial capitol compound in Barangay Amas in Kidapawan City, a short distance from the provincial police office.
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