( CNN ) -- At least 49 inmates broke out of a prison in Tunisia on Sunday night , the country 's state-run Tunis Afrique Presse reported . Security forces have detained 13 of the escapees , according to the report , which cited a security source . The incident occurred in Gabes , in the southeastern part of the North African country . It is the latest mass prison break in the turbulent Muslim world . Recent prison breaks have been cited by analysts as one of several reasons the United States heightened its security and closed various embassies last month . Prison breaks occurred last July in Pakistan , Iraq and Libya , and have been a known strategy of al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri . Details are not known about who escaped from the Tunisian prison , but there are longstanding fears that militants are focusing on springing their fighters and leaders who are incarcerated . CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen said that al Qaeda `` actually announced a year ago that they were going to do this campaign of releasing prisoners from prison and they conducted something like seven prison assaults , a couple of which have been quite successful . '' Interpol last month issued a global security alert , asking member nations to help determine whether the recent escapes are linked . It cited `` suspected al Qaeda involvement in several of the breakouts which led to the escape of hundreds of terrorists and other criminals . ''
Thirteen of the escapees in Tunisia have been detained . There has been international concern over recent prison escapes . Comment: