The Hawks confirmed that seven suspects were killed at a church in Ngcobo last night, during a gun battle between the suspects and the police. 

A police multi-disciplinary team is probing the shooting and killing of five police officers and a retired soldier at the police station in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

A memorial will be held in honour of the fallen officers next Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the church where a group of gunmen involved in the Ngcobo massacre were hiding is no stranger to controversy, having been raided by police two years ago to remove children who were reportedly being prevented from going to school. 

News24 reports that in February 2016, police and social workers had to forcefully enter the Mancoba Seven Angel's Ministries church in Nyanga village to remove 18 children that were reportedly not allowed to go to school. 

It was also reported at the time that older members of the church were forbidden from working and engaging with people outside of the church. 

This morning, police were again removing children from the church hostels, this time due to it being an active crime scene. At least 20 children have been removed from the church compound since the shootout.

SABC & News24