500 Prisoners Broken out of Prison in Al Qaeda Attack

Abu Ghraib before Monday's attack

Al Qaeda made a heavily coordinated attack on two prisons in Iraq, early Monday morning.

Just outside Baghdad, at Abu Ghraib prison, suicide bombers drove cars loaded with explosives into the gates, and blew them open.

Gunmen, backed with mortars and RPGs, then attacked the prison as well as held off reinforcements.

By the time helicopters showed up, and chased the militants off, more than five hundred prisoners had been freed and escaped.

Most of the escapees are members of Al Qaeda who were awaiting execution.

Ten guards and four attackers were killed in the battle.

In Taji, another prison was attacked at the same time.

Guards there were able to keep the walls from being breached and no prisoners escaped.

Sixteen guards and six militants were killed there.

Later in the day, twenty-two soldiers and three civilians were killed when a suicide car bomber struck a military convoy in Kokchali.

After that attack, leaflets were found at several mosques, in which Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attacks.