Bahrain looking for four suspects behind prison break

Interior minister says several people already in custody over New Year's Day attack on Jau prison that freed 10 inmates.

Bahrain is hunting four suspects wanted for their alleged involvement in a deadly attack on the central prison and a jailbreak earlier this month, the interior minister said on Sunday.

On January 1, gunmen attacked Jau prison south of the capital Manama, killing a policeman and allowing 10 inmates to escape.

Interior minister Sheikh Rashid Al Khalifa told parliament that investigators had identified four key suspects involved in the attack.

A number of suspects who helped them had been arrested, including the owner of the car used in the operation, he said.

“Negligence and complicity were the key reasons behind the jailbreak,” the minister said, according to a report by the official BNA news agency.

He said authorities had referred to the prosecutor three officials as part of the investigation into the operation.

The interior minister also urged legislators to adopt laws “that would help security forces fight against terrorism” and to “toughen sanctions” against those who attack security forces.

Shiites convicted over anti-government protests in Sunni-ruled Bahrain were held at Jau.

Seven of the escapees had been serving life sentences and three were serving lengthy jail terms for “terrorist acts”, the interior ministry said last week.

Bahrain has been faced sporadic unrest since 2011, when the authorities cracked down on Shiite-led protests calling for political reforms.

Hundreds of Shiites have been arrested and many have faced trial over their role in the demonstrations.

* Agence France-Presse