KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) -- Sudan's police chief says four men sentenced to death for killing an American diplomat two years ago have escaped from prison.

Police Lt. Gen. Mohammed Abdul-Rahim al-Tayeb said Friday the four crawled through an old sewage pipe from the prison to a main street.

Al-Tayeb said the fugitives clashed with security forces at a checkpoint on the outskirts of the capital. The search for them continues.

The four men killed John Granville from Buffalo, New York, and his driver in a drive-by shooting as Granville was returning from a New Year's Eve party on Jan. 1, 2008. He worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The prosecutor said the assailants acted out of religious zeal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AP