So how did the prison break really go down in Abu Ghraib (Iraq)..., page 1

It all happend around 21:00 or 9 p.m. after the evening meal. The prisoner count was being conducted when the mortars began to fall....

www.foreignpolicy.com...

A barrage of more than 40 rounds hit the grounds in rapid succession -- some counted as many as 100 explosions. As guards and detainees scrambled for cover, two car bombs exploded outside, punching a hole in the walls of the massive prison compound.

To me that sounds like a decent plan

More than 50 gunmen wearing tribal robes then entered the grounds, wielding pistols, AK-47s, and hand grenades. They had been on the road and in nearby villages, waiting to storm the facility. The power was cut, and the detainees broke out in cries of "God is great."

The gunmen opened fire on any officer they saw. "The prisoners rioted. Some burned mattresses and clothes, others had stored homemade explosives to hurl at the guards. The infiltrators handed weapons to their jailed comrades. There was screaming and chaos," one of the guards at Abu Ghraib recalled. "We were surrounded."

Some burned mattresses and clothes, others had stored homemade explosives to hurl at the guards. Hummm that sounds weird....

When the assault ended, 71 prisoners were dead but hundreds of hardened militants had been freed in a stunning attack by al Qaeda's local subsidiary. The exact number is still unclear: The Iraqi government estimated anywhere from 300 to more than 850 detainees, including some arrested by U.S. forces years ago, had been busted out. The fact that the Iraqi security apparatus still does not know exactly how many militants escaped is a stunning admission of incompetence -- and a testament to how badly it was knocked off balance by the assault.

The exact number is still unclear: The Iraqi government estimated anywhere from 300 to more than 850 detainees,......Ok someone does not know how many prisoners there were in the facility? What?

The article has more about Al Qaeda's activities in the country and some of the successful ops they have carried out... Just thought there might be some who would like to hear the official story...To me if I had a prison with declared enemy leaders and fighters of some organization it would be guarded with more than a few field hands and pepper spray...