An al-Qaeda affiliate on Tuesday claimed responsibility for two coordinated attacks on prisons in central Iraq, and said more than 500 prisoners escaped, dpa reported.
"The Mujahideen Brigades, after preparing and planning for months, targeted two of the largest prisons," read the statement posted by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on jihadist websites.
The raids were launched late Sunday on the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad and the al-Hout jail in al-Taji, an area north of the capital. Leaders of al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups are housed in both facilities.
The group said 12 car bombs were set off as militants blocked the two main roads leading to the prisons, after attacking checkpoints in the area.
The statement claimed that hundreds of prisoners, including more than 500 mujahideen, were set free.
The group claimed that more than 120 security guards were killed in the clashes, and denied that any insurgents died.
Security officials said 36 people were killed at both prisons.
While there are regular attempts to break into prisons in Iraq, this was the biggest attack in at least a year.
The Abu Ghraib prison complex became notorious after pictures of US soldiers abusing Iraqi detainees were made public in 2004.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is a merger of al-Qaeda affiliates in Iraq and Syria, and a top Iraqi militant announced its formation earlier this year.