JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Two police officers and seven suspects were killed on Friday night during a robbery shootout in KwaZulu-Natal, said South African police on Saturday.
The police said they were tailing a cash-in-transit vehicle at round 7 p.m. on Friday when armed robbers attached the vehicle and tried to access the cash using explosives. A shootout between the police and the robbers resulted the tragedy, said the police.
"This is yet another sad day for both the South African police service as well as South Africa at large for every time the life of a police officer is lost in combat, the nation mourns," said the National Police Commissioner General Khehla John Sitole.
A female police officer was injured in the leg during the shootout, said Sitole.
He praised the police fot their bravery.
He said, "I offer my highest praise to the all our colleagues that have once again put their lives on the line to bring hardened and selfish criminals to book."
The police recovered four AK 47 riffles and BMW car. The police stated that the BMW was used in spate of robberies.
