BAGHDAD — At least 40 inmates, including prisoners with suspected links to the Islamic State, escaped a prison in eastern Iraq early Saturday morning after overpowering guards, Iraqi officials said.
Dozens of inmates and at least six guards were killed in the incident, which took place at the Khalis prison in Diyala province.
In January, pro-government forces took control of the province from the Islamic State as part of an offensive to win back the vast territory in Iraq that the extremist group seized in June.
Officials gave conflicting reports of the number of people killed. Citing unnamed prison and police officials, the Reuters news agency reported that 50 inmates and 12 guards were killed.
Saad Maan, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said by telephone that 30 prisoners and six guards were confirmed killed in the incident, which started when an inmate seized an unspecified weapon from a guard and went on a shooting spree.
“Forty people escaped, and nine are Daesh members,” he said, using the Arabic name for the Islamic State.
Diyala, a province with Sunnis and Shiites, is under the control of pro-government Shiite militias, which played a significant role in driving out Islamic State militants from the area. The presence of the militias has caused tensions to soar, especially among Sunni residents, who accuse the groups of carrying out sectarian-motivated attacks.
Raad al-Dahliky, a Sunni parliamentarian from Diyala, accused the Shiite militias of playing a role in the prison break and called for a government investigation.
Prison breaks occur regularly in Iraq.
The most notorious one was at the Abu Ghraib prison in 2013, during which 500 inmates were freed in an attack by militants from the Islamic State of Iraq, the precursor to the Islamic State.
In Baghdad, meanwhile, a large car bomb exploded Saturday in the Karrada district, killing at least eight people and wounding about 30, according to Interior Ministry officials.
