The police in KwaZulu-Natal are on the hunt for suspects after two home-made bombs were found at a mosque in the Durban North area.
THE POLICE in KwaZulu-Natal are on the hunt for suspects after two home-made bombs were found at a mosque, along Kenneth Kaunda Road, in the Durban North area.
It is believed that a security guard noticed a vehicle entering the mosque’s driveway after midnight and observed one of the occupants, an unidentified male, exiting the passenger side and placing an object in the shrubs near the mosque entrance.
The package was found to contain a bomb and approximately 40 metres of detonation cable.
KZN provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said preliminary investigations indicate that in the early hours of Monday morning, unknown suspects were on Kenneth Kaunda Road when they were interrupted by a security vehicle that was patrolling the area.
“The suspects fled and threw the devices into the mosque premises. The security officer saw what happened and found the devices inside the mosque premises. He immediately suspected that it was explosive devices and contacted the necessary authorities, who in turn contacted police,” Naicker said.
He added that South African Police Service (SAPS) bomb technicians confirmed that it was home-made explosive devices that consisted of commercial explosives.
Naicker said the devices were not set up to explode.
“It is suspected that the men were en-route to an unknown location with the devices when they were disturbed by the security officer. Investigations to locate the suspects are ongoing,” Naicker added.
“We commend the security officer who found the devices as he did not touch them and immediately alerted authorities. We appeal to members of the community to follow his example and not to pick up any suspicious devices that they may come across,” he said.
