<p>Nearly 400 prisoners escaped from a jail in northwest Pakistan early on Sunday after it was attacked by Islamist militants armed with guns and rocket propelled grenades, a senior police official said.</p>.<p>Some of those who fled the jail in the town of Bannu, near unruly ethnic Pahstun tribal areas close to the Afghan border, were militants, an intelligence official said.</p>.<p>Pakistan's al Qaeda-linked Taliban movement, which has close links to al Qaeda, said its fighters mounted the assault, which triggered clashes. Several people were wounded.</p>.<p>"We have freed hundreds of our comrades in Bannu in this attack. Several of our people have reached their destinations, others are on their way," a Taliban spokesman said.</p>.<p>The claim could not be immediately verified.</p>.<p>If the al Qaeda-linked Taliban freed the prisoners, it could deal a psychological blow to Pakistani security forces following government assertions that security crackdowns have weakened the group.</p>.<p>While the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan have staged several jailbreaks, such operations are rare in Pakistan, one of the most unstable countries in the world.</p>.<p>Pakistan is seen as critical to U.S. efforts to stabilise Afghanistan. Yet the South Asian nation faces its own major security challenges.</p>.<p>The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Taliban Movement of Pakistan, is seen as the biggest threat, staging suicide bombings and shootings in a drive to impose its harsh version of Islam in the nuclear-armed country.</p>.<p>Major suicide bombings have eased in recent months, but it is unclear whether that is due to military gains or a shift in Taliban tactics.</p>.<p>A loose alliance of a dozen groups, the TTP began its battle against the state in 2007, after a bloody army raid on Islamabad's Red Mosque, which was controlled by its allies.</p>.<p>Police and intelligence officials said only some of the prisoners who escaped were militants.</p>.<p>"Dozens of militants attacked Bannu's central jail in the early hours of the morning, and over 300 prisoners have escaped," senior police official Mir Sahib Jan told Reuters.</p>.<p>"There was intense gunfire, and rocket-propelled grenades were also used."</p>.<p>Paramilitary troops and security forces surrounded Bannu Central Jail. Of a total 944 prisoners in the jail, 384 escaped, said another police official.</p>.<p>Militants apparently targeted six jail blocks in the attack, he said.</p>.<p>The Pakistani Taliban are closely linked with the Afghan Taliban. They move back and forth across the porous border, exchange intelligence, and provide shelter for each other in a region U.S. President Barack Obama has described as "the most dangerous place in the world".</p>
<p>Nearly 400 prisoners escaped from a jail in northwest Pakistan early on Sunday after it was attacked by Islamist militants armed with guns and rocket propelled grenades, a senior police official said.</p>.<p>Some of those who fled the jail in the town of Bannu, near unruly ethnic Pahstun tribal areas close to the Afghan border, were militants, an intelligence official said.</p>.<p>Pakistan's al Qaeda-linked Taliban movement, which has close links to al Qaeda, said its fighters mounted the assault, which triggered clashes. Several people were wounded.</p>.<p>"We have freed hundreds of our comrades in Bannu in this attack. Several of our people have reached their destinations, others are on their way," a Taliban spokesman said.</p>.<p>The claim could not be immediately verified.</p>.<p>If the al Qaeda-linked Taliban freed the prisoners, it could deal a psychological blow to Pakistani security forces following government assertions that security crackdowns have weakened the group.</p>.<p>While the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan have staged several jailbreaks, such operations are rare in Pakistan, one of the most unstable countries in the world.</p>.<p>Pakistan is seen as critical to U.S. efforts to stabilise Afghanistan. Yet the South Asian nation faces its own major security challenges.</p>.<p>The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Taliban Movement of Pakistan, is seen as the biggest threat, staging suicide bombings and shootings in a drive to impose its harsh version of Islam in the nuclear-armed country.</p>.<p>Major suicide bombings have eased in recent months, but it is unclear whether that is due to military gains or a shift in Taliban tactics.</p>.<p>A loose alliance of a dozen groups, the TTP began its battle against the state in 2007, after a bloody army raid on Islamabad's Red Mosque, which was controlled by its allies.</p>.<p>Police and intelligence officials said only some of the prisoners who escaped were militants.</p>.<p>"Dozens of militants attacked Bannu's central jail in the early hours of the morning, and over 300 prisoners have escaped," senior police official Mir Sahib Jan told Reuters.</p>.<p>"There was intense gunfire, and rocket-propelled grenades were also used."</p>.<p>Paramilitary troops and security forces surrounded Bannu Central Jail. Of a total 944 prisoners in the jail, 384 escaped, said another police official.</p>.<p>Militants apparently targeted six jail blocks in the attack, he said.</p>.<p>The Pakistani Taliban are closely linked with the Afghan Taliban. They move back and forth across the porous border, exchange intelligence, and provide shelter for each other in a region U.S. President Barack Obama has described as "the most dangerous place in the world".</p>