Inmates saw a window of opportunity at a US-run prison in the Iraqi city of Tikrit. In September 2009, prisoners used a wrench to unscrew a window grate in a bathroom of the prison, reported , enabling 16 inmates to slip out and down a 12-foot high wall.
reported that the escapees were being held on charges including terrorism, kidnapping and murder, and five were Al Qaeda-linked prisoners awaiting execution.