21 Daesh prisoners escape Iraqi jail, most recaptured

Twenty one prisoners, most of them members of Daesh jailed on terrorism charges, broke out of a prison in northern Iraq but 15 of them have been recaptured, security officials said on Thursday.

The fortified jail of Sosa is located near the northern Iraqi city of Sulaimaniya and include mainly prisoners from the terror group who were captured during the fight against Daesh which started in 2014.

Security officials launched manhunt operations after the break-out late on Wednesday and 15 of the 21 were recaptured, two security officials said. The whereabouts of the other six remains unknown.

Although Sosa jail is located in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, the federal government has full control over the prison.

It was not clear how the inmates managed to escape the highly secured prison.