'Several Killed' In Syrian Prison Riot

Damascus, Syria (AHN) - Several people are dead in a jail riot between guards and prisoners in Syria, a human rights group has said.

According to the reports the exact number of people killed during the clashes is not known as Syrian authorities refused to comment on the incident, but sources said at least 25 had died.

Islamist inmates started a riot inside the prison this morning after military police fired live bullets at them, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday.

The group is in contact with a political prisoner in Saydnaya jail, who also revealed that prisoners were being shot at as some of the inmates were fleeing the military prison from the roof to escape the violence.

The human rights group said the inmates have requested it to halt the clashes with the help of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"Based on what my staff saw, the administration of the prison has canceled visits today," Muhanad al-Hasni of the Syrian Human Rights Organization, told Al Jazeera.

"We could see columns of smoke from inside the prison. We can't tell if it is gas bombs or fire. We were denied access into the prison."

He added that ambulances were carrying the wounded to the hospital from the jail, which is located in an ancient town with biblical connections.

The group also said that around 400 detained security troops were being held hostage in the jail, which can hold at least 10,000 prisoners, to negotiate with the Syrian authorities.

Over the past few months, Syria began detaining political dissidents, a move which was condemned by the West.

Most of the arrests were carried out based on still active 45-year-old emergency laws.