Inmates flee after blast in Afghan jail

KABUL - At least 19 inmates escaped after a bomb went off at the main gate of a prison in western Afghanistan Sunday, officials said.

The blast occurred around 3 a.m. at the prison in Farah province, which holds 400 inmates, provincial police chief Faqir Askar said.

Eight were rearrested later, but 11 are still on the loose, Sha Mohammad Noor, spokesman for Farah province, was quoted as saying by the CNN.

The explosion killed one police officer, he said.

Police also arrested four inmates who they suspect were behind planting the bomb, which was smuggled inside the prison, he said. One of them later died in hospital from injuries suffered in the blast.