AMMAN, April 14 (Reuters) - Three inmates were killed and scores injured at a Jordanian prison when riots broke out leading to widespread ransacking and prisoners lighting fires, security sources said on Monday.

They said the clashes at al-Muaqar prison, southeast of the capital, were in protest at poor conditions and a new system of classifying prisoners.

Details of the incident were sketchy, but a police officer told Reuters the rioting erupted among hundreds of prisoners after a fire broke out in the prison, which holds 1,200 inmates.

The prison is one of 10 prisons in the country holding a total of more than 6,000 common criminals and prisoners who belong to al Qaeda and have been sentenced for attacks against Israeli, American and other Western targets.

Official sources said dozens of prisoners were taken to hospital for treatment.

Prisons in Jordan have seen a number of protests by inmates against poor conditions and complaints of ill treatment over the past years.

The government has promised to spend millions of dollars to ease overcrowding in the country's jails.

Human rights watchdogs, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have accused the authorities of torture and beatings inside Jordan's prisons.

They say that holding inmates for long periods without outside contact, trial or charges paves the way to abuses.

Jordan says there is no systematic abuse. (Writing by Suleiman al-Khalidi; Editing by Alison Williams)

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