Nine Moroccan Islamists escaped from the Kenitra penitentiary in the north of the Moroccan capital, Rabat, on Monday, the Justice Ministry said. “The escape was reported by the prison department on Monday morning and all arrangements have been made to find the absconding prisoners,” the ministry said in a statement. It said security agencies at the country’s border posts had been kept on full alert. The escapees included a man sentenced to death, four others sentenced to life imprisonment and another four to 20 years in jail. It was the first of such incident since the wave of arrests following the 16 May 2003 Casablanca attacks in which 45 people, including 12 suicide bombers, were killed. Over 900 Moroccan Islamists are estimated to be in 11 prisons across the country. Panapress.
