TIKRIT, Iraq, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi security forces recaptured two al-Qaida-affiliated jailbreakers on Sunday, bringing the number of recaptured prisoners to 11 in Salahudin province, a provincial police source said.

    Intelligence reports said Haafuz Gaati'e and Jaafar Aiyd, the two recaptured, had been hiding at vast open area some 50 km south of provincial capital Tikrit City, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    Iraqi security forces raided their hideouts in the early morning and traded fire with them, killing Haafuz Gaati'e and recapturing Aiyd, the source said.

    The latest recapture of the two prisoners brought the number of recaptured escaped prisoners to 11, he said, noting that there were still five jailbreakers on the run.

    The 16 inmates, including five sentenced to death, broke through a ventilation duct in the prison located in central Tikritat night on Sept. 23.

    Immediately after the prison break, Iraqi security forces carried out an intensive campaign to recapture them in Tikrit and all over the province as well as the neighboring provinces.

    After the prison break, the provincial authorities sacked Colonel Mohammed Salih Jbara, head of anti-terrorism department of Salahudin province, and detained more than 100 prison guards and staff for questioning.

    Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad, is the hometown of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who was toppled by the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

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