Terrorism South Africa

A large car bomb exploded outside a military headquarters in central Johannesburg on Thursday morning, injuring more than 70 people and damaging dozens of downtown buildings. Although the explosion appeared to be the largest yet in a South African city, there were no fatalities and relatively few serious injuries, according to police.

Imagine a bomb explodes on a Sunday afternoon at a packed beachfront restaurant in Malibu, bloodying dozens of sunbathers and ripping the leg off a 16-year-old waitress working her first shift of the summer. Imagine a bomb explodes after midnight at a jammed club in West Hollywood, injuring nine people, including a gay man whose heel is severed from his foot. Then, on Christmas Eve, another bomb strikes the same neighborhood, severing the leg of a 24-year-old policewoman.

Two car bombs exploded two minutes apart Wednesday outside a courthouse in downtown Johannesburg, killing three white policemen and injuring at least 15 other people. South African authorities blamed the outlawed African National Congress for the bombing, the 26th in the country so far this year and one of the most devastating attacks yet on the police here.

South African Minister for Safety and Security Sydney Mufamadi vowed to end a wave of urban terror in Cape Town and catch the bombers who injured 11 people in a blast in the city Thursday. Police said earlier that Thursday's bomb at Cape Town's main police station was similar to 15 others used in attacks attributed to militant Muslims in the tourist center. Nine of the 11 victims were treated in hospitals. All but five, who were awaiting surgery for wounds and burns, were quickly released.

Democracy dawned with a flourish across South Africa on Tuesday as hospital patients, pensioners, the disabled and other "special voters" flocked to this country's first all-race polls in unexpectedly high numbers and remarkably good spirits. The opening day of the historic three-day election for the post-apartheid government was marred by widespread confusion and hundreds of complaints of logistic problems and technical glitches at urban and rural polling stations.

What distinguished the heist in this affluent Johannesburg suburb from a rash of others across South Africa was the blood in the street. It was running from the bad guys for a change. Three would-be robbers were gunned down this week by police officers and security guards after a failed attempt to hold up an armored vehicle. The late-morning shootout sent bullets flying through the nearby industrial park, grazing cars and whistling past office workers at their desks.

South African Minister for Safety and Security Sydney Mufamadi vowed to end a wave of urban terror in Cape Town and catch the bombers who injured 11 people in a blast in the city Thursday. Police said earlier that Thursday's bomb at Cape Town's main police station was similar to 15 others used in attacks attributed to militant Muslims in the tourist center. Nine of the 11 victims were treated in hospitals. All but five, who were awaiting surgery for wounds and burns, were quickly released.

The late-night bomb exploded without warning, shattering windows in five shops and offices and scattering shrapnel that cratered concrete, pierced metal frames and splintered wood furniture. Amid the broken glass and debris, the target was obvious: The bomb--one of at least 30 tallied by police since late December--had been placed on the doormat of the recently opened office of the African National Congress.

A suspected hand-grenade attack killed a black man in Johannesburg on Saturday and injured 10 people just hours after a black hotel waiter died in a bomb blast. Altogether, three explosions rocked the city, ending a weeklong lull in urban terrorism blamed on white extremists opposed to racial reform. The first explosion ripped through an alleyway outside a hotel in the western suburb of Florida shortly after midnight Friday, killing the black waiter.

Accusing South Africa of sponsoring "terrorism" and engaging in "blatant aggression" against its neighbors, Michael S. Dukakis said Monday that if elected President he "would not rule out" giving military aid to the "front-line" states bordering the white-ruled nation.

What distinguished the heist in this affluent Johannesburg suburb from a rash of others across South Africa was the blood in the street. It was running from the bad guys for a change. Three would-be robbers were gunned down this week by police officers and security guards after a failed attempt to hold up an armored vehicle. The late-morning shootout sent bullets flying through the nearby industrial park, grazing cars and whistling past office workers at their desks.

South African police arrested two white men in connection with three bomb blasts near Johannesburg, the second incident in two weeks in which white right-wingers are suspected. Two black men were injured slightly in an explosion at a mosque in Rustenburg. A post office and shop were also bombed. Police said Christiaan Harmse, 26, and Pierre Jacobs, 32, both mine workers, were arrested and held without bail.

Two explosions in a crowded shopping area during the hectic Christmas Eve rush Tuesday killed three people, injured dozens and stunned residents of this sleepy town near Cape Town. "I am so sad," sobbed Jan April, who clung to his wife at a local hospital where their 9-year-old daughter, Juanina, was pronounced dead on arrival. "Whoever did this is cruel, very cruel." The early afternoon blasts at a large grocery store and a pharmacy a few blocks away were caused by pipe bombs, Police Supt.

With his buck teeth and giant girth, Craig Williamson was described in a newspaper here last year as having the "amiable appearance of an overweight Bugs Bunny." But his long career as a secret agent for the apartheid regime was no joke. He has admitted to bombings that killed two women and a young girl in London, Angola and Mozambique, and to running covert operations to spread disinformation and collect intelligence in Washington and elsewhere.

Democracy dawned with a flourish across South Africa on Tuesday as hospital patients, pensioners, the disabled and other "special voters" flocked to this country's first all-race polls in unexpectedly high numbers and remarkably good spirits. The opening day of the historic three-day election for the post-apartheid government was marred by widespread confusion and hundreds of complaints of logistic problems and technical glitches at urban and rural polling stations.

A 220-pound bomb ripped through a crowded taxi stand used by blacks in this conservative city Monday, killing 10. Two more people died later in a restaurant blast in Pretoria as the deadliest wave of right-wing terrorism in the nation's history hit South Africa on the eve of all-race elections.

A South African judge sentenced a guerrilla commander and nine others to terms ranging from two to 15 years for staging grenade and bomb attacks. Ashley Forbes, 22, commander of African National Congress guerrilla units in the Cape Town area, received a 15-year sentence after being convicted of a bomb attack at a bus shelter and three grenade attacks on homes of policemen. Sentenced to 14 years each were Peter Jacobs, 23, and Nicklo Pedro, 20. Anglican Archbishop Desmond M.

An explosive device placed in a garbage container blew up Friday night in downtown Johannesburg as it was being loaded onto a sanitation truck, injuring the driver and destroying the vehicle.

A massive car bomb exploded Sunday near African National Congress offices in downtown Johannesburg, leaving at least nine people dead and about 100 injured two days before this tense nation goes to the polls in its first free elections. The explosion, the worst terrorist attack of the campaign, echoed across the country's commercial hub about 9:50 on a bright and sunny morning.

Under pressure to stem a mounting terror campaign, police arrested five white members of far-right militant groups Monday in connection with a wave of at least 32 bombings in the last two months. The most recent attack, late Sunday night, destroyed a day-care center for black children in Warmbad, a right-wing stronghold north of Pretoria. A powerful bomb blew the roof off, destroyed windows and furniture and damaged surrounding buildings and homes, police said.