DURBAN - The Hawks have confirmed on Monday morning that the suspicious
device found at the Imam Hussein Mosque was indeed an explosive mechanism.
After emerging from a meeting with members of the explosives unit
on Monday in the aftermath of the bomb scare, Hawks spokesperson Captain
Simphiwe Mhlongo said experts would continue analysing the elements of the
explosive mechanism, including the chemicals within.
The explosive device found at the Imam Hussein Mosque. Picture: Reaction Unit South Africa.
The device, an old cellphone attached to a pipe with wires, was
found by worshipers on Sunday evening.
It was removed after a gruelling five hour investigation by a bomb
squad.
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The apparent #MosqueBomb threat came in the wake of the brutal
attack on Thursday by three armed men at the same mosque which claimed the life
of Abbas Essop, 35.
Essop’s
throat was said to have been a slit by the attackers who also harmed two others
including a Moulana (Islamic priest).
At the
#MosqueBomb scene on Sunday night, Mhlongo said it was strange for the bomb to
have been found merely hours after South African Police Minister, Bheki Cele,
visited the area on Sunday morning, in the wake of the attack, and the Mosque
had been “cleared” on Friday.
Also read:
Hawks
confirm suspicious device found at Imam Hussein Mosque