Bahrain jailbreak sparks manhunt

Twenty prisoners on the run after breaking out of jail close to the main airport.

Dubai // Bahraini security forces launched a manhunt on Saturday after a reported 20 prisoners broke out of a jail on the island of Muharraq, site of the kingdom’s main airport.

The interior ministry said police had recaptured some of the fugitives, who broke out of the Al Hadd detention centre near the Muharraq dry dock on Saturday evening, but did not say how many inmates remained at large.

Bahrain’s Akhbar Al Khaleej newspaper said police had set up roadblocks on the causeways linking Muharraq to Bahrain’s main island, where the capital Manama is located.

“They managed to seize a bus and get away after assaulting warders and police and wounding several of them,” the paper said.

There was no immediate information on whether the prisoners were common criminals, political activists or foreigners awaiting deportation.

* Agence France-Presse