Ultras attack Philippine jail

Dozens of suspected Islamic militants knocked down a concrete wall and barged into a jail in the volatile southern Philippines on Sunday, freeing 31 inmates in a night-time attack that sparked a gunbattle in which two people were killed, officials said.

Vice-Governor Al Rasheed Sakalahul of Basilan island said the heavily armed men cut through padlocks with boltcutters after using a sledgehammer to destroy the wall at the provincial jail in Isabela city to free several detained Muslim guerrillas. Other inmates also dashed to freedom, he said.