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A
squatter camp in Soweto
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JOHANNESBURG,
October 30 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A series of bomb
explosions in the Johannesburg township of Soweto damaged a mosque and
railway lines linking the predominantly black township with South
Africa’s biggest city and killed at least one person, officials and
the media reported early Wednesday, October 30.
Police
spokesman Superintendent Richard Luvhengo said nine bombs had
exploded, with one rocking a squatter camp, killing one person and
wounding another.
The
police also disarmed at least one other bomb at a service station, he
said, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
A
42-year-old woman died while her 51-year-old husband sustained head
injuries while sleeping in their shack at the squatter camp.
Luvhengo
said the explosion at the mosque came at about five minutes to
midnight (2155 GMT) on Tuesday.
The
explosion, which he described as resulting from a bomb, ripped a hole
in the northern wall of the mosque in Soweto’s Dlamini area.
Shortly
after the first blast at the mosque, eight other explosions occurred
on several railway lines.
“Our
detectives worked through the night and they are still busy with their
investigations,” Luvhengo told AFP shortly after 8:00 am (0600 GMT).
“Nobody
has claimed responsibility yet and no arrests have been made.”
Metrorail
spokeswoman Lilian Mofokeng told the local news agency SAPA the damage
to the railway lines appeared to be extensive.
Mofokeng
said repair crews were on site but were waiting for police to declare
the scenes safe before inspecting and repairing the damage.
The
railways brought in shuttle buses to cope with morning rush-hour
traffic.
South
African newspaper Pretoria News quoted Police Director Henriette
Bester saying that detectives worked through the night and were still
busy with their investigations.
Forensic
experts were combing the scenes but have not yet been able to
determine what kind of explosives had been used.
Metrorail’s
Lilian Mofokeng said the damage to railway lines and other
infra-structure appeared to be extensive, the paper said.
Repair
crews were on site but were waiting for police to complete their
preliminary investigations before starting repairs.
Mofokeng
said train services along the Midway, Naledi and Oberholzer lines
would be severely affected.
Services
to Naledi, Langlaagte and Midway were suspended and trains from
Oberholzer to Johannesburg were to be routed via Randfontein until
further notice, it added.
