12 men escape Yemeni prison

ADEN (AFP) - Twelve alleged Al-Qaeda militants plus two other inmates have tunnelled their way to freedom from a prison in the south Yemen city of Aden, a security official said on Monday. The prisoners fled through a six-metre (yard) tunnel they dug at the western end of Adens central prison, the official said. None of the escapees was serving a jail sentence. Some were being tried over a 2009 robbery of a bank in Aden, while others were facing charges of being involved in various assassinations of intelligence officers, security sources said. In June, heavily-armed Al-Qaeda fighters raided the central jail in the southern city Al-Mukalla freeing dozens of prisoners.