Zirga jailbreak

Eleven inmates have escaped Zirga Jail in northern Iraq through an 80m tunnel. The men who absconded on Saturday were serving a range of sentences, from five years to death, for crimes ranging from drug offences to murder.

The governor of the prison, located in the northern, Kurdish province of Dohuk said that he was surprised by the events.

Sagvan Jameel, head of Zirga Jail said, “Eleven prisoners have escaped. They dug an 80m-long tunnel and escaped through it. The prisoners did not leave any traces of how they dug the tunnel, we are surprised.”

Zirga prison opened in 2008 and can house approximately 600 prisoners. The Iraqi Autonomous Region of Kurdistan Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs runs the prison.

The prisoners had not been recaptured as T&TI went to press. An enquiry was opened following the escape.