At least 50 inmates and 12 policemen were killed when the Iraqi security forces thwarted a jail-break of more than 300 detainees held for terrorism charges in the eastern province of Diyala, a provincial security source said on Saturday.
Besides 14 policemen were wounded.
The attempt started when a group of detainees took the gun of a guard yesterday at night in the jail of the police headquarters in the city of Khalis, some 65 kilometers northeast of Baghdad.
The inmates seized departments of the jail, gained weapons and clashed with the security forces for more than four hours.
The reinforcement troops later arrived to the scene and took control of the situation at dawn, the source said.
Some detainees escaped the jail but there is no immediate report about their number.