19 Detainees Flee in North Iraq Prison Break

Nineteen detainees, including two men sentenced to death and several alleged al-Qaida leaders, escaped from a prison in northern Iraq on Friday, in what one politician said was an inside job.

"Nineteen people, including members of al-Qaida and Ansar al-Sunna, fled from prison in Kirkuk at around 3:30 am (0030 GMT)," a security official said.

Kirkuk province's deputy governor and a provincial council member confirmed the prison break.

The group apparently drugged guards and fellow inmates using narcotic-laced dates that put them to sleep before breaking out of al-Tasfirat prison in central Kirkuk, 240 kilometers (150 miles) north of Baghdad.

Of the 19, two were sentenced to death, while 17 faced various accusations including murder.

The group was made up of alleged al-Qaida insurgents and fighters belonging to Ansar al-Sunna, a Salafist group that has claimed several attacks against U.S. and Iraqi security forces, the security official said.

An Agence France Presse journalist said security forces in Kirkuk shut off entrances to the city, and launched a manhunt.

"We consider today's incident to be very clear negligence by the security forces," said Abdullah al-Asi, a Kirkuk provincial councilor, alleging the prison break was an inside job.