SUKKUR, May 16: About 25 armed man attacked the Central Jail Colony on Monday night and opened fire on the houses of DIG prison Major Ghulam Hussain Khoso, Superintendent Jail Aashiq Hussain Bozdar and eight jailers. The indiscriminate firing continued for about 20 minutes, with bullets piercing walls of some of the houses. No casualty was reported.

A heavy contingent of police and rangers reached the place after the assailants had escaped.

Major Khoso was in Hyderabad to attend a wedding along with his family.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Aashiq Hussain Bozdar confirmed the incident and said that the incident caused panic among the jail staff.

DPO Sukkur told this correspondent that a strong contingent of police was in pursuit of the assailants.

According to observers here, the incident may be an act of retaliation for a major operation carried out in the Sukkur Central Jail last week in which one prisoner was killed and more than 35 injured.