2013 Dera Ismail Khan prison attack
31°49′0″N 70°55′0″E / 31.81667°N 70.91667°E / 31.81667; 70.91667
(300 prisoners freed)
- v
- t
- e
in Pakistan (since 2001)
‡ indicates attacks resulting in more than 100 deaths
Underline indicates the deadliest terrorist attack/s to date
- 1st Bahawalpur
- 1st Karachi
- 1st Quetta
- 2nd Quetta
- 1st Multan
- 1st Mandi Bahauddin (Ahmadiyya)
- 4th Karachi
- Dargai
- 1st Dera Ismail Khan
- 1st Charsadda
- July bombings ‡
- 2nd Rawalpindi
- 5th Karachi ‡
- 2nd Charsadda
- 3rd Rawalpindi (Bhutto assassination)
- 4th/5th Dera Ismail Khan (January violence)
- 6th Dera Ismail Khan
- 2nd Lahore (Sri Lankan cricket)
- 1st Khyber
- 3rd Lahore
- Chakwal
- 7th/8th Dera Ismail Khan (May attacks)
- 4th Lahore
- 3rd Peshawar
- 5th Lahore
- Usterzai
- 4th Peshawar
- 4th Rawalpindi
- Alpuri
- 6th Lahore
- 5th Islamabad
- 5th Peshawar ‡
- 5th Rawalpindi
- 6th Peshawar
- 6th Rawalpindi
- 7th Lahore
- 1st Dera Ghazi Khan
- 1st Lower Dir
- 6th Karachi
- 1st Lakki Marwat ‡
- 1st Bajaur
- 2nd Lower Dir
- 7th Karachi
- 2nd Khyber
- 3rd Khyber
- 8th, 9th & 10th Lahore
- U.S consulate/Timergarah attack
- 2nd/3rd Kohat
- 8th Peshawar
- 11th Lahore (Ahmadiyya)
- 9th Dera Ismail Khan
- 12th Lahore (Sufi)
- 1st Mohmand ‡
- 13th Lahore (Shia)
- 3rd Quetta
- 2nd Darra Adam Khel
- 8th Karachi (CID)
- 2nd Mohmand
- 2nd Bajaur
- 12th Karachi (Chaudhry Aslam assassination)
- 1st Bannu
- 2nd Mastung
- 20th Peshawar
- 13th Karachi (Jinnah International Airport)
- 14th Quetta
- Wagah border
- 21st Peshawar (school massacre) ‡
- Shikarpur
- 22nd Peshawar
- 15th Lahore
- 14th Karachi
- 3rd Mastung
- Attock
- Camp Badaber
- Taunsa Sharif
- 15th Quetta
- Jacobabad
- 6th Parachinar
- 16th Quetta
- 5th Charsadda (Bacha Khan University)
- 23rd Peshawar
- 16th Lahore
- 17th Quetta
- 3rd Mohmand
- 18th Quetta
- 2nd Khuzdar
- 13th Dera Ismail Khan
- 7th Parachinar
- 17th Lahore
- 24th Peshawar
- Sehwan
- 6th Charsadda
- 8th Parachinar
- 18th Lahore
- 25th Peshawar
- 4th Mastung
- 19th Quetta/9th Parachinar
- Chaman
- 19th Lahore
- 20th Lahore
- 4th Bajaur
- 20th Quetta
- 1st Harnai
- 14th Dera Ismail Khan (Ataullah Shah)
- Jhal Magsi
- 27th Peshawar
- 21st Quetta
- 28th Peshawar
- 5th Mastung/2nd Bannu ‡
- 15th Dera Ismail Khan
- 2018 election violence
- 2nd Orakzai
- 15th Karachi (Chinese consulate)
- 31st Peshawar
- 20th Karachi
- Barkhan
- Bolan
- Havelian
- 3rd Lakki Marwat
- 8th Khyber
- 31st Quetta
- Muslim Bagh
- 32nd Peshawar
- Zhob
- 1st N Waziristan
- Bara
- Khar
- 2nd N Waziristan
- 6th Mastung
- Hangu
- 16th Dera Ismail Khan
- 2nd Gwadar
- Mianwali
- Chilas
- Daraban]
On 29 July 2013, terrorists attacked on Dera Ismail Khan's central prison and freed more than 240 criminals including 35 high-profile terrorists. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility of attack.[2]
Background
On July 27, a letter marked “secret” and “most immediate” by the ISI addressed to the commissioner, deputy commissioner, deputy inspector general of police, district police officer and the superintendent of Dera Ismail Khan central jail, stated: “It has been reliably learnt that miscreants namely Umer Khitab and his associates affiliated with Gadanpur Group/Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan are planning to carry out terrorist attack against Central Jail – Dera Ismail Khan on the pattern similar to Bannu jailbreak in near future. According to information, miscreants are in possession of sketch/map of Jail and have reached in the vicinity of Dera Ismail Khan for this purpose.”[3][4]
Attack
The attackers first destroyed an armoured police vehicle outside prison and threw many Hand grenades on prison's security guards.[1] According to a police official, militants were disguised in police uniform and were firing Rocket launchers from outside of prison, he said "Militants were firing rockets at the jail and I also heard gunfire from inside the building".[1][5] Residents in Dera Ismail Khan reported hearing loud blasts and gunfires.[1] About hundred militants (who were armed with Guns, mortars, Rocket-propelled grenades and bombs) attacked the prison.[6] Militants launched their attack with series of explosion. Militants have also launched an attack on buildings surrounding the prison, including a radio station and a hospital. A nearby house was also reportedly attacked where the militants took the residents hostage and laid an ambush for security forces’ reinforcements.[7] While attacking, the militants were shouting " God is great" and "Long live Taliban".[6] The attackers then entered the prison and opened fires on police officers. The police officers fired and used Tear gas in retaliation.[8] A resulting gun battle raged for three to four hours. During attack, four police officers and five attackers were killed while several injured.[9] The militants managed to free 248 prisoners.[5]
Aftermath
Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid claimed responsibility for the attack, saying 150 militants took part and about 300 prisoners were freed. Eight of the attackers wore suicide vests and two detonated their explosives, Shahid told the Associated Press by telephone from an undisclosed location.[10] Authorities captured nine prisoners who escaped and were searching for the others. Army soldiers were called in as reinforcements. A curfew had been imposed in Dera Ismail Khan and the nearby town of Tank while the search contented,[10] One of the militants freed in the attack was Adnan Rasheed, who had recently gained attention by writing a letter to teenage education activist Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012. Rasheed said he wished the attack hadn't happened but told Malala that she had been targeted for speaking ill of the Taliban. [11]
References
- ^ a b c d e "230 prisoners escape in TTP's DI Khan jail attack". The Express Tribune. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
- ^ "TTP claims responsibility for DI Khan prison attack". Geo News. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
- ^ Khan, Ismail (31 July 2013). "Jailbreak: it wasn't an intelligence failure for once". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
- ^ "DI Khan jail break: Authorities knew two days before attack". The Express Tribune. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
- ^ a b "Pakistan jailbreak: Taliban free 248 in Dera Ismail Khan". BBC News. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
- ^ a b "Pakistani Taliban free over 175 inmates in DI Khan jailbreak". Dawn News. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
- ^ "Five policemen killed as TTP storm DI Khan prison, dozens escape". The Express Tribune. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
- ^ "Three prisoners escape in DI Khan Central Jail attack". The Express Tribune. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
- ^ "Terrorist involved in D I Khan central jail attack killed". Dunya News. 27 April 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
- ^ a b Press, Associated (30 July 2013). "Taliban attack Pakistan prison". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
- ^ "TTP Militant Pens Letter to Malala – Newsweek Pakistan". 17 July 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2024.