Eleven people have been killed and four others critically wounded after gunmen fired on a minibus in South Africa.

Police said the victims of the Saturday night attack had attended the funeral of a colleague and were returning home when the ambush occurred.

The attack happened between the towns of Colenso and Weenen in KwaZulu-Natal province, between Durban and Johannesburg and the victims were from Gauteng province.

Police are investigating possible motives.

Tensions between groups of taxi drivers vying for the same routes sometimes spill into deadly violence in South Africa.

South African media reported the deaths of 10 people in violence related to rivalries among minibus taxi drivers in Cape Town over one weekend in May.</s>Gunmen have opened fire on a minibus carrying members of a taxi drivers' association, killing 11 people and critically wounding four others in South Africa.

Gunmen have opened fire on a minibus carrying members of a taxi drivers' association, killing 11 people and critically wounding four others in South Africa.

Police said the victims of the Saturday night attack had attended the funeral of a colleague and were returning home when the ambush occurred.

The attack happened between the towns of Colenso and Weenen in KwaZulu-Natal province and the victims were from Gauteng province.

Tensions between groups of taxi drivers vying for the same routes sometimes spill into deadly violence in South Africa.

South African media reported the deaths of 10 people in violence related to rivalries among minibus taxi drivers in Cape Town over one weekend in May.</s>Gunmen have shot dead eleven people in a minibus as they travelled home from a funeral.

All the victims were part of a taxi drivers’ association, and had been paying tribute to a colleague.

Four others were critically injured in the ambush, which happened between the towns of Colenso and Weenen in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa.

Police are investigating the motive for the attack.

Tensions between groups of taxi drivers vying for the same routes sometimes spill into deadly violence in South Africa.

South African media reported the deaths of 10 people in violence related to rivalries among minibus taxi drivers in Cape Town over one weekend in May.

Police Brig. Jay Naicker said the victims were from Gauteng province and had been travelling back to Johannesburg.

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MORE: Pilot branded ‘hero’ after making emergency landing when hailstones destroyed plane</s>South African police say gunmen have opened fire on a minibus carrying members of a taxi drivers' association, killing 11 people and critically wounding four others.

Police Brig. Jay Naicker says the victims of the Saturday night attack had attended a colleague's funeral and were returning home when the ambush occurred. He says the attack happened between the towns of Colenso and Weenen in KwaZulu-Natal province and the victims were from Gauteng province.

Tensions between groups of taxi drivers vying for the same routes sometimes spill into deadly violence in South Africa.

South African media reported the deaths of 10 people in violence related to rivalries among minibus taxi drivers in Cape Town over one weekend in May.</s>Gunmen in South Africa have killed 11 taxi drivers in an ambush, police say.

The men from Gauteng province were travelling to Johannesburg on Saturday night when their minibus was fired on.

The victims, and four others critically injured, were returning from a colleague's funeral in the coastal region of Kwa-Zulu Natal, police said.

The motive is unclear although rivalry between groups running minibus taxi routes in South Africa has led to violence in the past.

Minibus taxis are the most popular form of transportation among South Africa's population of 55 million.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said the vehicle was attacked between the towns of Colenso and Weenen, in the coastal province.

"The vehicle was ambushed. There were 11 fatalities and four were seriously injured and are in hospital," he told reporters.

"There has been a lot of taxi violence in the area but we are still investigating who the perpetrators were."

The targeted attack comes days after deadly shootings in Johannesburg, South African media reported.

In one week, a taxi owner reportedly with "no enemies" was shot dead in his vehicle, and two others were killed while travelling under a police escort.

Ten people were also killed in violence related to rivalries among minibus drivers in Cape Town over one weekend in May.</s>Gunmen have shot dead 11 taxi drivers returning to Johannesburg from the funeral of a colleague in Kwa-Zulu Natal, a police spokesman said on Sunday.

The drivers, who were members of the Gauteng taxi association, were in a minibus driving along the R74 when unknown gunmen launched an ambush and opened fire.

"There was a shooting at about 8 p.m. (1800 GMT) last night. The vehicle was ambushed. There were 11 fatalities and four were seriously injured and are in hospital," Kwa-Zulu Natal spokesman Jay Naicker said.

"We understand they were from the Gauteng taxi association. There has been a lot of taxi violence in the area but we are still investigating who the perpetrators were."

Minibus taxis are the most popular form of transport in South Africa and violence is common by rival groups vying for dominance on profitable routes.</s>South African police have said gunmen opened fire on a minibus carrying members of a taxi drivers' association, killing 11 people and critically wounding four others.

Two others escaped without injury.

Police Brigadier Jay Naicker said the victims of the Saturday night attack had attended a colleague's funeral and were returning home when the ambush occurred.

"There has been a lot of taxi violence in the area but we are still investigating who the perpetrators were," Mr Naicker told the BBC, adding that the vehicle had been "ambushed".

He says the attack happened between the towns of Colenso and Weenen in KwaZulu-Natal province and the victims were from Gauteng province.

The targeted attack comes days after deadly shootings in Johannesburg.

South African media reported that a taxi owner with "no enemies" was shot dead in his vehicle, and two others were killed while travelling under a police escort.

Tensions between groups of taxi drivers vying for the same routes sometimes spill into deadly violence in South Africa.

South African media reported the deaths of 10 people in violence related to rivalries among minibus taxi drivers in Cape Town over one weekend in May.</s>Police Brig. Jay Naicker says the victims of the Saturday night attack had attended the funeral of a colleague and were returning home when the ambush occurred. He says the attack happened between the towns of Colenso and Weenen in KwaZulu-Natal province and the victims were from Gauteng province.</s>Eleven South African minibus taxi drivers were shot dead and four injured when unknown gunmen opened fire on their vehicle in KwaZulu-Natal province, police said.

The national commissioner of police, Khehla Sitole, said the men were travelling back to Johannesburg from a colleague’s funeral on Saturday night when they were ambushed.

“Preliminary reports indicate that the 11 were among 17 people coming from a funeral ... Four victims were critically injured and taken to hospital while two survived unscathed,” he said.

“We will await for the investigation to advance before speculating on a motive,” said Sitole.

Private minibuses provide essential transport for millions of South Africans, but violence is common between rival taxi groups as profitable routes are hotly contested.</s>At least 11 taxi drivers were killed and four others critically injured after gunmen opened fire on a minibus carrying the group from a funeral on Saturday, officials said.

The South African Police Service the group was attacked in between the towns of Colenso and Weenen in the eastern part of the country.

Police Brig. Jay Naicker told the Associated Press the victims attended a colleague's funeral and were returning home when the ambush occurred.

Detectives are investigating possible motives for the shooting, and said the victims are from the Gauteng province.

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Minibus taxis are the most popular form of transport in South Africa, violence is common by rival groups vying for dominance on profitable routes, according to Sky News.

South African media reported the deaths of 10 people in violence related to rivalries among minibus taxi drivers in Cape Town over one weekend in May.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Gunmen attack a minibus of people returning from a funeral between Colenso and Weenen in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Eleven people are shot dead and four others are critically injured.