At least three Al-Qaeda members were killed Wednesday when 63 Al-Qaeda prisoners escaped from their jail in Yemen's city of Mukalla, the Interior Ministry reported on Thursday.
When the authorities tried to thwart the escape, the prisoners resisted that forcing the authorities to control the situation with force, it said, adding, "three prisoners were killed and two arrested".
A hunt was launched for the other prisoners, who could escape through a 35-meter tunnel they dug under the ground, it added. "The prisoners, including those who had been sentenced to jail terms and others under trial, killed one of the jail guards."
A panel was formed immediately to investigate the escape, the ministry said, urging the people to cooperate with the authorities and report to them information about any of those who escaped.