11 escape British internment center in Basra; Most switched clothes with visitors who took their place

An Iraqi prisoner in Basra.

BAGHDAD, March 17 — Ten inmates at a British military internment facility in Basra used an audacious plan to escape over the past several days by switching places with visitors who had come to visit the facility.

An eleventh detainee was missing, but no one appeared to have been substituted for him, British authorities said. The internment center is on the outskirts of Basra on a British base in the area.

“They were remarkably well prepared. They looked the same, they knew the stories of the people they were substituting for. It was quite a sophisticated effort, very carefully planned,” said the spokesman.

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