JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP)[[cf80]]—Twenty-four blacks and a white policeman were killed in overnight factional fighting, and a pre-dawn bombing damaged offices of the governing National Party, police said today.

All the deaths occurred in townships around Johannesburg, where battles between rival black groups have claimed some 700 lives in the past month.

Worst hit was Tembisa, northeast of Johannesburg, where 12 bodies were found, police said.

The policeman was killed and three colleagues seriously wounded when they were ambushed with assault rifles while driving through a squatter camp in the Soweto township.

Also in Soweto, three blacks were killed when their yellow van was riddled with gunfire from AK-47 rifles. The attackers apparently mistook the van for a police vehicle, most of which are painted yellow.

The blast at the deserted National Party offices in Pretoria, the capital, shattered windows and damaged computer equipment, said the party’s regional secretary Danie Labuschagne.

No one claimed responsibility for the bombing, which was carried out with commercial explosives, according to police.

Extreme right-wing groups have claimed responsibility for several recent nighttime bombings, including attacks on other National Party offices. Commercial explosives were used in those bombings.