One soldier was killed and at least one other wounded when militants outside the prison attacked it, presumably to create a distraction that provided 57 militants enough cover to escape through a tunnel, according to security officials cited in a report by The Associated Press. Altogether, 62 inmates made off in the confusion.
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Reuters reported all of the prisoners were Yemeni and most had been jailed after returning from fighting in Iraq for the insurgents.
Yemen, already in the midst of a violent national upheaval, is home to one of al Qaeda’s most dangerous affiliates, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, whose leaders include U.S.-born radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.
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