Dozens of Inmates Escape from Iraqi Jail, Al-Qaeda Link Suspected

May have also been an inside job

Dozens of inmates have escaped after armed men attacked a prison in the central Iraqi city of Tikrit, leaving at least 10 policemen dead, officials say.

Ahmed Abdul Jabbar, deputy governor of Salaheddin, told AFP news agency on Friday by telephone that the Tikrit prison had been retaken from fighters who seized it on Thursday night, but that 83 prisoners escaped.