Gunshots were heard late on Friday at Kabul's main Pul-e-Charki prison as two Pakistani inmates armed with assault rifles remained locked in a seven-hour standoff with police.
Police and international peacekeepers surrounded the two-storey building after the violence erupted early on Friday and two Afghan army tanks and troops arrived on the scene later.
The prison houses militants as well as common criminals and Americans Jonathan "Jack" Idema, Brent Bennett and Edward Caraballo - who were convicted in September of running a private jail and torturing Afghan suspects.
"Four guards were killed and one was wounded and two prisoners were also killed," prison chief Abdel Salam Bakhshi said.
Three other guards were missing. Police could not reach them and it was not known whether they were dead or wounded, he added.
The uprising began when an inmate killed a guard with a razor blade and grabbed his AK-47 rifle, Bakhshi said. He then opened fire on the other prison officers, sparking a huge gun battle.
The commander of the guard unit, a colonel, also died in the clash along with two other colleagues.
Bakhshi confirmed to reporters that Idema was in the building. When asked to confirm rumors that the inmates wanted to kill him, he replied that "perhaps" that was what they intended. There was no other confirmation that Idema had been targeted.
An Afghan army company arrived later in the day as well as police armed with AK-47s, heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
Kabul police chief General Babajan was at the scene and was discussing a plan for a possible infantry and tank attack with an Afghan general and other police units, according to witnesses.
International Security Assistance Force spokesman Lieutenant Commander Ken Mackillop said they had received a request for tear gas from the ministry of justice. "It is under consideration," he added.
A police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that there were scenes of chaos inside the building.
"One of the prison guards who tried to get closer to the prisoners was shot in the head. His body is lying on the floor," he said at the scene. "They have got four AK-47s and we estimate that they might have around 250 to 300 bullets."
Police said the two dead inmates were arrested some six months ago in Kabul.
The prison is divided into a number of blocks but only two are currently in use. One contains prisoners of war and remnants of the Taliban regime ousted in 2001 while the other houses criminals, mainly drug offenders.
It was not clear in which block the unrest broke out but witnesses said the armed prisoners had moved to an empty building.
PUL-E-CHARKI JAIL, AFGHANISTAN - Afghan forces retook control of the country's largest jail on Friday, following a day-long standoff in which at least nine people died and four were wounded, police and witnesses said. Two armed Pakistani prisoners were killed after 50 police and Afghan soldiers stormed Pul-e-Charki jail, prison guard Abdel Rahim said after emerging from the facility on the outskirts of Kabul.
"The two prisoners were killed, one of the three [guards] who were trapped was killed and one was wounded," Abdel Rahim said, who was among three guards who had been holding off armed rebel prisoners since the riot broke out.
© 2004 Agence France-Presse
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