Beirut: Militants from a radical Islamist group which fought deadly battles with the Lebanese army in 2007 escaped from the country's main jail on Saturday, a security official said.
"Five inmates have escaped from Ward D in the Roumieh prison," northeast of Beirut, the official said on condition of anonymity. "We believe at least three of them belonged to the Fatah al-Islam group."
Lebanon's Internal Security Forces said a sixth inmate attempting to flee had been caught inside prison grounds and was under interrogation.
The five, two Syrians, a Lebanese, a Kuwaiti and two Mauritanians, had sawed through a fence inside the prison, used sheets to rappel from their ward and then mingled with visitors in civilian clothing, it said in a statement.
The security official said the hunt for the inmates was on-going, while television footage showed troops had surrounded the notorious prison as a helicopter flew overhead.
Roumieh, the oldest and largest of Lebanon's overcrowded prisons, has witnessed sporadic prison breaks in recent years and escalating riots over the past months as inmates living in dire conditions demand fairer treatment.
In the summer of 2007, Al Qaeda-inspired Fatah Al-Islam led an uprising against the army in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in northern Lebanon.
The fighting killed some 400 people, including 168 soldiers, and deadly clashes also broke out in the nearby port city of Tripoli but some Islamist leaders escaped despite a 15-week army siege of the camp.
The militant group is also accused of being behind twin bus bombings in a Christian suburb northeast of Beirut that left three dead and close to 20 wounded in 2007.
"Five inmates have escaped from Ward D in the Roumieh prison," northeast of Beirut, the official said on condition of anonymity. "We believe at least three of them belonged to the Fatah al-Islam group."
Lebanon's Internal Security Forces said a sixth inmate attempting to flee had been caught inside prison grounds and was under interrogation.
The five, two Syrians, a Lebanese, a Kuwaiti and two Mauritanians, had sawed through a fence inside the prison, used sheets to rappel from their ward and then mingled with visitors in civilian clothing, it said in a statement.
The security official said the hunt for the inmates was on-going, while television footage showed troops had surrounded the notorious prison as a helicopter flew overhead.
Roumieh, the oldest and largest of Lebanon's overcrowded prisons, has witnessed sporadic prison breaks in recent years and escalating riots over the past months as inmates living in dire conditions demand fairer treatment.
In the summer of 2007, Al Qaeda-inspired Fatah Al-Islam led an uprising against the army in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in northern Lebanon.
The fighting killed some 400 people, including 168 soldiers, and deadly clashes also broke out in the nearby port city of Tripoli but some Islamist leaders escaped despite a 15-week army siege of the camp.
The militant group is also accused of being behind twin bus bombings in a Christian suburb northeast of Beirut that left three dead and close to 20 wounded in 2007.
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