Knives, petrol bombs found in Afghan prison

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan security forces found more than 100 knives and swords, petrol bombs and dozens of mobile phones in a search of Kabul's main prison, the Defence Ministry said on Saturday.

The search was launched after Taliban insurgents carried off one of the biggest jail-breaks in history last month, smashing a suicide truck bomb into the gate of Kandahar prison in the south and freeing 400 of their fighters and 700 other criminals.

"The joint programme by Afghan security forces and the Ministry of Justice was designed to separate, supervise and search the inmates in the central Pul-i-Charkhi prison and will improve the security of the prison," the Ministry said.

The Kandahar jail-break was a big propaganda win for the Taliban who have stepped up their insurgency to overthrow the Afghan government and drive out foreign forces in recent months.

Pul-i-Charkhi prison gained notoriety in the 1980s when Soviet authorities and Afghanistan's communist government executed thousands there.