3 Judges, 5 Armed Inmates Die in Pakistani Prison Raid
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LAHORE, Pakistan — Three judges were killed when police commandos stormed a maximum-security prison where armed inmates had taken the judges and some female inmates hostage Friday, officials said. The five men who took the hostages also died in the raid.
The commandos were called in after the inmates threatened to kill their captives, Pakistani police official Malik Iqbal said.
The armed prisoners earlier freed four judges, who told police that the hostage-takers wanted a small bus, more weapons and safe passage. It was not known how the prisoners obtained weapons.
“We tried to negotiate with them, but when the prisoners said they would kill the judges we brought in the commandos,” Iqbal said.
None of the female hostages was injured, Iqbal said.
The incident occurred at the Sialkot penitentiary 60 miles north of Lahore, the capital of Punjab province in eastern Pakistan. The judges were taken hostage while inspecting the overcrowded facility.
About 2,700 prisoners are held in the maximum-security prison built to house 1,800.
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