Seventeen detainees escaped from a prison in Bahrain, police said on Saturday, and the government warned citizens against giving them shelter.

The official Bahrain News Agency said 11 of those who escaped on Friday had since been recaptured, and six remained at large. Five others who aided in the planning and execution of the escape had also been arrested, it quoted police as saying.

Interior Minister Lieutenant-General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa on Saturday chaired a security meeting to review the circumstances of the escape of 17 detainees from the Dry Dock Detention Center, stated the BNA report.

He was presented with a report by Undersecretary detailing the escape that took place at 8:45 am on June 3. The report also highlighted security efforts to arrest the fugitives.

Thus far, eleven of the detainees have been caught along with five others who assisted in the planning and execution of the escape.

The search continues for the remaining six escapees namely Mohammed Abdulamir Jabar Jafar Mushaima aged 20; Yousif Ahmed Abdullah Al Aradi (21); Sayed Alawi Talib Mohammed Hassan (21); Hassan Musa Jaffar Mohammed (20); Mohamood Sayed Adel Kadhem (21) and Abdullah Hussain Ali Al Ajooz (21), said the BNA report.

The minister commended the cooperation from citizens and residents and said their help contributed to the quick arrests of several of the fugitives, it stated.-Reuters