An Afghan policeman takes a look at the opening of tunnel at the main prison in Kandahar, Afghanistan, which prisoners escaped through Monday. Taliban insurgents dug a more than 1,050-foot tunnel underground and into the main jail in Kandahar city and whisked out more than 450 prisoners, most of whom were Taliban fighters, officials and the insurgents said Monday. (AP Photo/Allauddin Khan)By MIRWAIS KHAN and HEIDI VOGT
Associated Press
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – During the long Afghan winter, Taliban insurgents were apparently busy underground.
The militants say they spent more than five months building a 1,050-foot tunnel to the main prison in southern Afghanistan, bypassing government checkpoints, watch towers and concrete barriers topped with razor wire.
The diggers finally poked through Sunday and spent 4 1/2 hours ferrying away more than 480 inmates without a shot being fired, according to the Taliban and Afghan officials. Most of the prisoners were Taliban militants.