US warns of possible terror attacks in S. Africa's biggest cities

The US State Department has issued a warning over the possibility of terror attacks in South Africa during the upcoming month of Ramadan.

According to a statement published on its website, the targets of the attack include upscale shopping malls and other areas frequented by US citizens in the country’s biggest cities of Johannesburg and Cape Town.

“This information comes against the backdrop of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s public call for its adherents to carry out terrorist attacks globally during the upcoming month of Ramadan,” the statement said.

South African officials however say that the country’s security agents are on high alert and capable of ensuring safety of its citizens, including Americans.

“The state security agency and other security agencies in this country are very much capable of keeping South Africa safe and everybody in this country, including Americans,” a spokesman for the foreign affairs ministry told Reuters.

The US had issued a similar warning last September saying that jihadists could be targeting American government and business interests in South Africa but nothing came of the advisory.

Reuters