DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — Taliban militants attacked a prison in northwest Pakistan on Sunday, freeing at least 380 prisoners, including at least 20 insurgents described by police as "very dangerous," authorities and the militants said.
The raid by more than 100 fighters was a dramatic display of the strength of the insurgency gripping the nuclear-armed country. The escaped prisoners may now rejoin the fight, giving momentum to a movement that has killed thousands of Pakistani officials and ordinary citizens since 2007.
The fighters, armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, attacked the prison before dawn in the city of Bannu in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said police officer Shafique Khan. They fought with guards for around two hours before freeing the 380 prisoners, including at least 20 "very dangerous Taliban militants," he said.