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April 15, 2014

Iraq's Abu Ghraib prision is closed due to security issues after a mass breakout last year. - AFP pic, April 15, 2014.Iraq has closed Abu Ghraib prison, made infamous by Saddam Hussein's regime and US forces, due to security concerns following a mass breakout last year, the justice ministry said today.

The country is suffering a protracted surge in violence that has claimed more than 2,550 lives this year, and the area west of Baghdad where the prison is located is particularly insecure.

The ministry announced online the "complete closure of Baghdad Central Prison, previously (known as) 'Abu Ghraib', and the removal of the inmates in cooperation with the ministries of defence and interior".

The statement quoted Justice Minister Hassan al-Shammari as saying 2,400 inmates arrested or sentenced for terrorism-related offences have been transferred to other facilities in central and northern Iraq.

"The ministry took this decision as part of precautionary measures related to the security of prisons," Shammari said, adding that Abu Ghraib prison is "in a hot area".

It was not immediately clear whether the closure was temporary or permanent.

The prison is located between Baghdad and the city of Fallujah, which has been held by anti-government fighters since early January.

Shelling in Fallujah today killed five people and wounded 16, while mortar rounds and twin suicide bombings in Anbar provincial capital Ramadi, farther west, left one dead and eight wounded.

Abu Ghraib prison served as a notorious torture centre under now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein, with an estimated 4,000 detainees perishing there.

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