Three cops wounded in Zululand gun battle

Three police officers were badly wounded in an exchange of fire with a gang of gunmen in KwaNongoma in Zululand in the early hours of Monday morning.

Sources with knowledge of the incident, who spoke to TimesLIVE on condition of anonymity, said that officers had responded to reports of a business robbery at a petrol station in the northern KZN town's centre.

As they drew near the scene, gunmen opened fire on the minibus the police were travelling in, peppering the taxi with bullets.

The badly wounded officers were rushed by their colleagues to the Benedictine District Hospital nearby as the gang of balaclava-clad men fled the scene.

It is understood that they had forced their way inside two petrol stations, seeking out cash stored in tills and the safes.

Police spokesperson Lt-Col Thulani Zwane could not be reached for comment at the time of publishing.