Afghan and foreign troops were hunting on Saturday hundreds of prisoners, including militants, who escaped the main prison in southern Kandahar city after a raid by Taliban insurgents, the government said.
Separately, an explosion killed four soldiers from the U.S.-led force during an operation in the western province of Farah on Saturday, the single bloodiest toll among foreign troops in one day in recent weeks in Afghanistan.
Authorities have also launched a probe to find out if any security officials were involved in the commando-style attack on the Kandahar prison by several dozen Taliban fighters under darkness on Friday.
So far none of the prisoners have been tracked down, deputy justice minister Mohammad Qasim Hashimzai, told Reuters.
"It was a very unprecedented attack and together with foreign forces, an operation has been launched to track down and arrest the prisoners."
Hashimzai said some 1,000 inmates, including up to 400 Taliban, were held in the prison before the attack.
He could not say how many had managed to escape, adding there were casualties among police, the Taliban and prisoners from a clash following the attack which began with a suicide bomber driving a truck into the jail gate.
Several dozen Taliban, armed with rocket propelled grenades and assault rifles then stormed the mud-built compound and started to free the prisoners which apart from militants included women and suspected criminals.
"We are trying to find out that if there was any inside help," Hashimzai said.
A local politician said 15 policemen were killed in the Taliban storming of the prison and subsequent clashes. He did not have more details.
NATO-led troops were supporting Afghan security forces in cordoning off the area in the hunt for the prison inmates, an alliance spokesman in Kabul said.
