Armed men slit throats of Shia worshipers at Durban mosque

A terrorist attack has taken place when three men armed with guns and knives slit the throats of three Shia worshipers at Imam Hussein, peace be upon him, mosque near Durban in South Africa and a person was killed, an emergency service official said on Thursday.

A terrorist attack has taken place when three men armed with guns and knives slit the throats of three Shia worshipers at Imam Hussein, peace be upon him, mosque near Durban in South Africa and a person was killed, an emergency service official said on Thursday.

One victim jumped from a side window of the building, which had been set ablaze sending smoke billowing, said Prem Balram, a spokesman for Reaction Unit SA, a private emergency service, who was among the first on the scene.

“One of the three has just died on his way to hospital. The other two are in critical condition,” said Balram, adding that the suspects fled in a white car. “The suspects were Egyptian males. The local people here identified them.”

South African police said the motive of the attack at the mosque on the Old Main Road in Ottawa in the KwaZulu-Natal province was unknown and they were investigating.

Africa’s most industrialized country has a large expatriate community and attracts many tourists but has seldom been associated with Takfiri militancy.

Police said in a statement that three unknown men entered a mosque after the midday prayer and attacked the three Shia worshipers.

The suspects also set certain rooms in the mosque alight before fleeing in their getaway vehicle, police said.

“The motive of the attack on the three men is unknown at this stage,” police said, adding that no arrests have been made.

It is worth mentioning that Shia Rights Watch International Organization has strongly condemned the terrorist attack carried out by the hands of the Takfiri ideology in South Africa against the innocent worshipers at the Imam Hussein Mosque, demanding the authorities to prosecute the terrorists and impose a fair punishment on them.