Dozens of militants, many of them suspected al Qaeda members, have escaped a Yemeni prison in what appeared to be a brazen, coordinated jailbreak today, according to reports.
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.
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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