Suspected Muslim rebels free leader from Philippines jail

GENERAL SANTOS, Philippines - About 100 suspected Muslim rebels used rocket-propelled grenades in a daring jail assault early Tuesday, freeing a rebel leader and 67 other prisoners, officials said.

One prisoner was killed and five people injured, including two guards, in the clash at the jail in Apupong, a village near General Santos City in the southern Philippines, police said.

The suspected members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front freed a rebel leader, Tahir Alonto, who was serving a life sentence for murder and kidnapping, and seven other comrades, jail warden Nestor Velasquez said.

''It happened so fast. There were explosions and suddenly they were crawling and firing all over the jail compound,'' Velasquez said.

The attackers blasted three holes in the perimeter wall with rocket-propelled grenades and then headed toward a jail building where Alonto was signaling with a flashlight, he said.

They destroyed the padlock of Alonto's cell with gunfire and punched a hole in the wall with a sledge hammer. They also forced open 13 other cells, encouraging other prisoners to escape, Velasquez said.

Jail guards forced back an attempt to free more of the 400 prisoners at another jail building during the 30-minute assault, he said.

General Santos, a major seaport, is about 625 miles south of Manila. The rebel front is fighting for an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines.