Al-Qaida inmates riot in high-security Afghan prison

HUNDREDS of inmates, including convicted al-Qaida and Taliban militants, overpowered guards and took control of parts of a high-security prison in Afghanistan’s capital, officials said yesterday.

Police and soldiers surrounded the Policharki Prison as government officials tried to negotiate through loudspeakers with the inmates. Their demands were not known.

Deputy justice minister Mohammed Qasim Hashimzai reported some initial progress in talks, but there was periodic gunfire with prisoners shouting “God is Great!”