Egypt Embassy says mosque attackers not confirmed

The Egyptian Embassy in South Africa says the nationality of the three men who attacked a mosque in Verulam north of Durban, has not been confirmed.

There have been reports that the attackers were of Egyptian origin, although the Imam of the mosque says the attackers were local men.

One person was killed and two others injured.

Ayman Walash is spokesperson for the Egyptian Embassy.

“There are on-going investigations by authorities in South Africa and let us not jump to conclusions. We are following the developments of the investigations until reaching the crux of the attack. Egypt consistently and strongly condemns extremism and terrorism in all its forms…. We express our deepest sympathy and heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims – and we wish them a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured.”

Meanwhile, spokesperson for the Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal, Simphiwe Mhlongo, says a statement from one of the surviving victims has given them a lead that could potentially lead to the discovery of the identity of the suspects.

“As things stand now, members are still at the crime scene. Some of our members went to interview one of the victims from the hospital… One of the victims has been discharged from the hospital, and we also obtained a statement from him, which can give us clues of who the suspects are.”

Mhlongo has also urged members of the society to bring more information that could help to arrest the suspects.

At this stage we are busy obtaining any information that we can get from the members of the public… that information, we believe, it can help us in getting the whereabouts of the suspects. We also urge the members of this community who might see the suspect, to share that information with us,” says Mhlongo.

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