Prison break

Militants armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades launched a series of coordinated attacks yesterday in southeastern Nigeria, targeting a prison where more than 1800 inmates then managed to escape, authorities said. The attacks began around 2am in the town of Owerri in Imo state and lasted for about two hours, according to local resident Uche Okafor. Gunmen also assaulted various other police and military buildings, authorities said. The co-ordinated attacks come less than two weeks after another wave of violence in southeastern Nigeria, when at least a dozen security officers were killed during attacks on four police stations, military checkpoints and prison vehicles. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the Nigeria inspector general of police blamed a paramilitary wing of a secessionist movement active in the region called the Eastern Security Network.