Bongngat and Kidapawan police chief Supt. Leo Ajero said gunfire continued for hours after the attack as army troops and police, some in armored tanks, hunted through the surrounding forests for the escaped inmates and the gunmen who freed them.



Bongngat said the attackers were suspected to include members of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and guerrillas who broke away from the main Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has signed a peace deal with the government.



The jail held 1,511 inmates, including Bangsamoro members facing murder charges for a series of bombings in the province, officials said. It was the third attack on the provincial jail facility since 2007.



Local village leader Alexander Austria told The Associated Press by telephone that he and his men captured one escaped man.



He said the gunfire woke his village, which was several miles from the prison, and he immediately posted guards because of worries the attackers and escaped inmates could enter the village.



"We heard the gunfire and we sprang into action to guard our village," Austria said. "We were afraid the escapees could try to enter our village to hide or take hostages."



Associated Press