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S. African Ambush Goes Awry; 2 Black Police Officers Slain

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Associated Press

Soldiers hiding out in what they believed was a guerrilla safehouse shot and killed two black police officers and an alleged informer who approached the building, police said Sunday.

The victims, also believing that the building was a base for the outlawed African National Congress, were arriving to investigate, police said.

The ambush in Soweto township occurred last Wednesday but was not reported by police or the army until Sunday newspapers described it.

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After being tipped off by an unidentified informant, soldiers hid inside the house Wednesday, according to the reports.

About the same time, four police officers, three black and one white, were told by the alleged informer that the house was occupied by ANC members, police said. They went to investigate and were shot as they approached the house at night, according to police headquarters.

The soldiers, believing they were firing at ANC members, killed two black police officers and the alleged informer and injured the third black officer. The white officer was not hurt, police said.

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