Four jihadist prisoners have escaped from a prison in Nouakchott, Mauritania’s capital.

The prisoners engaged in gunfire with prison guards during the escape Sunday night, killing two of the guards and wounding two, according to the Interior Ministry.

“The National Guard has tightened its control over the prison and immediately started tracking down the fugitives in order to arrest them as soon as possible,” the ministry said in a statement Monday.

Two of the prisoners had been sentenced to death and the other two were awaiting trial on charges of being members of a terrorist group, according to Agence France Presse.

Source: Voice of America