DERA ISMAIL KHAN, July 30: Twelve people, including five policemen, were killed and 13 others injured after over one hundred heavily armed militants stormed the central jail here on Monday night, leading to the escape of 248 prisoners.

Authorities clamped a curfew in Dera Ismail Khan and plugged exit points leading to the tribal region to look for suspects and escaping prisoners. But police said that the search yielded just a handful of prisoners and no arrests were made.

A spokesman for the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, Shahidullah Shahid, said the attack was carried out by TTP militants and claimed that more than 200 of its inmates had been freed from the prison.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has ordered a joint investigation by civil and military officials and asked them to submit a report within 15 days.

Inspector General of Police Ihsan Ghani has suspended the superintendent of police and DSP of Elite Force along with 27 policemen for negligence of duty.

He formed the joint probe committee comprising senior member revenue Waqar Ayoub, additional IGP special branch Syed Akhtar Ali Shah, special secretary home and a representative of 11 Corps.

The committee will submit its report to the government within 15 days.

Talking to newsmen in the KP Assembly after casting his vote in the presidential election on Tuesday, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak said the Dera jailbreak incident was a major failure of intelligence agencies and the provincial home and tribal affairs department. He said stern action would be taken against those found guilty of negligence.

In reply to a question about the number of hardened criminals who escaped from the jail, Mr Khattak said there were 30 to 35 “most wanted persons” among the 250 prisoners who had escaped.

A security official said that a group of 60 to 65 militants led the frontal assault on the central prison, while another group of 10 to 15 entered the jail and dynamited the cells and barracks to free their men after ascertaining their identities through megaphones.

He said another group of 20 to 25 militants comprising Chechens, Uzbeks and Afghans had set up pickets in various parts of Dera Ismail Khan city to facilitate the main group in approaching the target and securing their exit.

“No resistance was offered by prison police. Only one guard at the rooftop opened fire,” the official said. “The main militant group involved in the assault has reached South Waziristan,” he said, citing intelligence reports. “A large number of those who have escaped are still believed to be inside the city,” he said.

“It was a tactical failure,” the official said. “The Elite Police had been assigned certain tasks in view of the intelligence received, but when the time came they failed to respond.”

The official warned that an attack on Haripur jail could be in the offing. Militants convicted in Gen Musharraf and former prime minister Shaukat Aziz assassination attempts cases are in the prison. “Intelligence has been shared with KP,” he said.

The TTP militants, equipped with sophisticated weapons, came in seven flying coaches and dozens of motorcycles, launching a three-pronged attack on the jail at 11:22pm.

The shootout continued for three hours.