VERULAM, SOUTH AFRICA: South African police hunting for three men who stabbed worshippers at a mosque outside Durban said on Friday that the attackers’ motive was unknown but “elements of extremism” were involved.
Three attackers killed one worshipper, reported to be an imam, and seriously injured two others after midday prayers on Thursday at a mosque in Verulam town, on the outskirts of the eastern port city.
The assailants, who also set off a petrol bomb inside the Shia mosque, escaped in a car after the attack.
“There are elements of extremism because the incident happened in a place of worship and the manner in which it was conducted,” Simphiwe Mhlongo, spokesman for the Hawks police unit, told AFP.
“It shows hatred toward the worshippers.”
Mhlongo stressed that the motive for the attack was still unknown, adding that a major hunt was under way to find the attackers.
“The whole law enforcement forces are out, including private security, local detectives and police. Everyone is out on the lookout for the suspects,” he said.
The man killed had his throat slit, and the other two injured men were stabbed — one in the abdomen and the other in the groin of his left leg, according to medics at the scene.
The blood-soaked victims were found lying in the forecourt of the mosque by emergency services.
One man who was attacked inside the building jumped out of a window when it was set alight by the petrol bomb.
A knife was left on the ground, but police declined to confirm earlier reports that the attackers had carried guns.
The incident appeared to be unprecedented in South Africa, where about 1.5 percent of the country’s 55 million population is Muslim.
The country prides itself on religious tolerance and has little record of violence related to religion.
The South African parliament’s police committee condemned the attack.
“A mosque is a religious institution, and South Africa’s constitution guarantees and protects the right to religious practices,” its chairman Francois Beukman said.
“We want our communities to live in harmony, practicing their religions without fear.”
Manhunt after ‘extremist’ South Africa mosque attack
Manhunt after ‘extremist’ South Africa mosque attack
- Three attackers killed one worshipper, reported to be an imam, and seriously injured two others after midday prayers on Thursday at a mosque in Verulam town.
- The assailants escaped in a car after the attack.
Immigration agents draw guns, arrest activists following them in Minneapolis
MINNEAPOLIS: Immigration officers with guns drawn arrested some activists who were trailing their vehicles on Tuesday in Minneapolis, a sign that tensions have not eased since the departure last week of a high-profile commander.
At least one person who had an anti-ICE message on clothing was handcuffed while face-down on the ground. An Associated Press photographer witnessed the arrests.
Meanwhile, Tuesday was the deadline for the Minnesota governor, state attorney general and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul to produce documents to a federal grand jury in response to a Justice Department request for records of any effort to stifle the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Officials have denounced it as a bullying tactic.
Federal agents in the Twin Cities lately have been conducting more targeted immigration arrests at homes and neighborhoods, rather than staging in parking lots. The convoys have been harder to find and less aggressive. Alerts in activist group chats have been more about sightings than immigration-related detainments.
Several cars followed officers through south Minneapolis after there were reports of them knocking at homes. Officers stopped their vehicles and ordered activists to come out of a car at gunpoint. Agents told reporters at the scene to stay back and threatened to use pepper spray.
There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A federal judge last month put limits on how officers treat motorists who are following them but not obstructing their operations. Safely following agents “at an appropriate distance does not, by itself, create reasonable suspicion to justify a vehicle stop,” the judge said. An appeals court, however, set the order aside.
Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, who was leading an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and other big US cities, left town last week, shortly after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, the second local killing of a US citizen in January.
Trump administration border czar Tom Homan was dispatched to Minnesota instead. He warned that protesters could face consequences if they interfere with officers.
Grand jury seeks communications, records
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s office said it was complying with a grand jury subpoena requesting documents about the city’s response to Operation Metro Surge, but it released no other details.
“We have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide, but when the federal government weaponizes the criminal justice system against political opponents, it’s important to stand up and fight back,” spokesperson Ally Peters said.
Other state and local offices run by Democrats were given similar requests. People familiar with the matter have told the AP that the subpoenas are related to an investigation into whether Minnesota officials obstructed enforcement through public statements.
No bond for man in Omar incident
Elsewhere, a man charged with squirting apple cider vinegar on Democratic US Rep. Ilhan Omar will remain in jail. US Magistrate Judge David Schultz granted a federal prosecutor’s request to deny bond to Anthony Kazmierczak.
“We simply cannot have protesters and people — whatever side of the aisle they’re on — running up to representatives who are conducting official business, and holding town halls, and assaulting them,” Assistant US Attorney Benjamin Bejar said Tuesday.
Defense attorney John Fossum said the vinegar posed a low risk to Omar. He said Kazmierczak’s health problems weren’t being properly addressed in jail and that his release would be appropriate.
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Raza reported from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. AP reporters Ed White in Detroit and Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed.
