Al Qaeda militants flee from Egypt prison

Cairo, Feb 9: Omar Suleiman, the Vice-President of Egypt, has informed that taking advantage of the current political turmoil due to the revolt against President Hosni Mubarak, several al Qaeda militants have managed to escape from the country's prisons.

The Egyptian state news agency said that in a meeting with journalists, the VP said that among the escapees were several members of "Jihadist organisations" who had not renounced their ideology of hatred or agreed to cease violence.

On the escapees, he said, "..had not agreed to the initiative to halt violence and are still convinced that society is godless and this is a great threat", and added, "We need a lot of effort to get them back (to jail)."

Among the militants who have managed to escape, include a member of the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah, a Shi'ite Islamic movement.

According to Reuters, Sami Chehab, the prime accused of plotting attacks in Egypt, had already reached Beirut by the time the news of his escape was made public.

Egypt is one of the USA's key allies in its war against terror.

OneIndia News