Just saw this as reported on the NY Times website:
In a brazen attack, Taliban fighters assaulted the main prison in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on Friday night, blowing up the mud walls, killing 15 guards and freeing around 1,200 inmates. Among the escapees were about 350 Taliban members, including commanders, would-be suicide bombers and assassins, said Ahmed Wali Karzai, the head of Kandahar’s provincial council and a brother of President Hamid Karzai.
The article says that 30 members of the Taliban were involved, and that they used a combination of explosives and rifles.
The attack began at 9:20 p.m., when two truck bombs exploded at the prison gates, breaking down a part of the mud walls, Ahmed Karzai said. It seemed to be well planned, officials said. After the bombings, a group of fighters armed with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles mounted an attack, said a spokesman for the provincial governor. They then ran through the prison, breaking open the cell doors.
With estimates ranging from 350-400 Taliban members having been set free, this is a huge setback for American forces as they try to maintain order in Afghanistan.
While our money, soldiers, and advisers are bogged down in Iraq, we've allowed the situation in Afghanistan to deteriorate horribly. Afghanistan is rarely in the news these days, and no one seems particularly alarmed that we've allowed the Taliban to regroup.
An attack of this magnitude reflects both the organizational and operational strength of the Taliban in 2008, as well as a lack of training from local security forces, who seem unable to have stopped a single escapee.
Here's some more info from the Canadian media:
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi told AP the jailbreak freed hundreds of imprisoned Taliban fighters. He said the attack had been in the works for two months.
"Today we succeeded," he said, adding the prisoners are now "safe in town and they are going to their homes."
The Canadians are particular concerned since most of their troops are in the Kandahar area. Most of the prisoners had been originally captured by Canadian soldiers.