A man has died in a mosque near Durban, South Africa, when three men armed with guns and knives attacked and cut the throats of three worshipers, according to an emergency services source.
Africa's most industrialized country has a large foreign community and attracts many tourists, but it has almost never had problems with extremist Islamists.
"One of the three (victims) died on the way to the hospital. The other two are being treated in critical condition, "said Prem Balram, a spokesman for Reaction Unit SA, a private ambulance company. According to another source, the deceased is the imam of the mosque whose perpetrators cut his neck.
The motives of the attack have not yet been clarified. The three suspects, who escaped in a white car, are Egyptians, according to Balram. "The locals recognized them," he added.
Part of the glass was set on fire and smoke rose from the edge of the building. One of the victims jumped from a side window of the burning building.