40 prisoners rearrested out of 158 escaping in Philippines jail break

Philippine police have recaptured 40 inmates who escaped from a prison in the southern Philippines before dawn Wednesday, a police officer said on Thursday.

Police officer Emmanuel Peralta, provincial director of the North Cotabato Police, said in an interview with a local TV channel that so far five have been killed and two injured during the manhunt operation to rearrest the rest of the escaped prisoners.

At least 158 prisoners managed to flee when dozens of heavily-armed gunmen stormed a jail facility in Kidapawan City in North Cotabato in southern Philippines around 1 a.m. local time on Wednesday.

But Peralta insisted during the interview that 159 inmates actually escaped during the raid. "We have a figure of 159 total (number) of escapees. There was some confusion during the initial counting. There are more or less 1,500 prisoners in the provincial jail," Peralta said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but Peralta said the police suspect members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and its splinter group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) were behind it.

Among those detained at the overcrowded jail were BIFF members who are serving murder charges. The group is notorious for carrying out bombings and kidnapping for ransom in Mindanao in the southern Philippines.

At the time of the attack, authorities said that the raiders outnumbered the 20 or so guards manning the prison facility. Among those killed during the raid was a jail guard who apparently fought it out with the heavily-armed raiders.

Initial investigation showed the raiders cut off power shortly after midnight on Wednesday, plunging the facility into darkness. Explosions and shots were then heard, according to jail authorities.

Peralta said they received intelligence report last month and New Year's eve that there was a plan to attack and rescue inmates of the provincial jail.

"So, we prepared accordingly (last Dec. 31 on New Year's eve) but sad to say that we were busy with other operational duties," he said, adding the police were concerned about possible bomb attacks in the province.

"The improvised explosive device threat here in North Cotabato for the past three months was really high," he added.