Car bombs rock Ecuador capital as prisoners seize 57 guards, police

Ecuador's capital Quito has been rocked by attacks with grenades and two car bombs, followed hours later by inmates in six prisons taking hostage 57 prison guards and police officers, officials said.

The wave of attacks was an apparent show of force by organized crime gangs that claimed no victims, while the uprising in the prisons was believed to be a riposte to a police sweep of jails to confiscate weapons the day before.

Such waves of violence are unusual in Quito and are a part of the country’s descent into violence amidst growing drug-trafficking activity.