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Gunmen storm Iraq jail, free 140
06 Mar 2007 17:10:16 GMT
Source: Reuters

MOSUL, Iraq, March 6 (Reuters) - Dozens of gunmen stormed an Iraqi jail in the northern city of Mosul on Tuesday and freed up to 140 prisoners in one of the biggest prison breaks since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, police said.

Militants attacked Mosul's northwestern Badoush prison just after sunset in the ethnically mixed city and overwhelmed police, who were forced to call the U.S. military for backup.

Most of the prisoners were believed to be insurgents, police said.

It was unclear if there were any clashes between gunmen and police during the incident.

Saddam Hussein's nephew, Ayham Sabawi, escaped the same prison in December after he was accused of financing the Sunni insurgency against U.S. forces and the Shi'ite-led government.
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A veiled Shi'ite pilgrim takes part in a procession during the Arbain religious ceremony in Kerbala, 110 km (70 miles) south of Baghdad, March 8, 2007. More than a million Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims poured into Iraq 's holy city of Kerbala to mark Arbain, the end of a 40-day mourning period since Ashura, which marks the death of Prophet Mohammad's grandson Imam Hussein in 680AD.