Plot to bomb US buildings, disrupt World Cup

[Erna]

End of last month all the US embassies in SA closed for about a week due to some or other security threat. They were very secretive about it, refusing to comment or disclose any information. As the story developed, they eventually said they intercepted terrorist communication channels revealing plans by Al Qaeda to blow up the US embassies.

Today this article appeared in the newspaper:

_http://www.sundayindependent.co.za/?fSectionId=3536&fArticleId=vn20091011085002653C456708

Plot to bomb US buildings, disrupt World Cup

Tired of fighting, and largely losing, against the US in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia, a group of Somali terrorists devised a strategy to take on the superpower in South Africa.

The Sunday Tribune can reveal that the US's closure of its offices in the country was because of intercepted cellphone communication detailing planned attacks on American interests here. It is unclear whether American interests necessarily include a possible visit by US President Barack Obama for the official opening of the World Cup.

Intelligence officers, according to two sources, intercepted a call made in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, to a group based in Somalia, and the conversation confirmed a plot to blow up American interests in South Africa last month.

A source said US intelligence agents, South Africa's National Intelligence Agency and SAPS Crime Intelligence operatives launched a surveillance operation on the Cape-based group, gathering crucial information before the operation was thrown into disarray.

NIA spokeswoman Lorna Daniels refused to comment yesterday, threatening legal action.

As the embassies were closed just before Heritage Day, National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele went on TV to say the country's intelligence structures were on top of the situation.

This, it was established, led to the group discarding the SIM cards and the phones they had used, to cover their tracks.

The source said: "What has been established is that the Cape guys are linked to al-Qaeda cells in Somalia, who are connected to the group in Afghanistan. We have established that most al-Qaeda operatives are relocating from Afghanistan to Pakistan, attracted by increased lawlessness in Pakistan.

"Our information is that there is a trail that links Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and, most interestingly, Mozambique, where Somalis have formed an anti-US cell already.

"The interception revealed that these people plan to move en masse from Mozambique to here (South Africa) in 2010 to attack American interests. Their point is that South Africa is not a target, but if South Africans are caught in the crossfire, then that would be unfortunate.".

US embassy spokeswoman Sharon Hudson-Dean said: "We don't comment on intelligence matters."

An NIA official said yesterday: "This is classified information. If you publish it, this will jeopardise an operation already under way".

The source said this was untrue because Cele had already said publicly that intelligence officers were on the trail of the extremists - which is why they changed phones and went to ground without arrests.

"The US was right to take these people seriously because we now know that these people have links with shady characters who have access to old military hardware in Eastern Europe," said the source.

Rich Mkhondo, the chief communications officer for the Fifa 2010 World Cup Organising Committee South Africa, said security for the event was provided by the state.

The Mozambican embassy could not be reached yesterday.

 

[MichaelM]

After reading the excerpt, I was reminded of the US rumor back in May of this year about the US embassies being told to buy local currency for up to a year. I could not find my bookmarked link about it but doing a little search turned up a lot of hits like the following:
_http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_08/laird080609.html

USD Situation, September October Rumors
Christopher Laird
August 6, 2009
There have been disturbing stories/rumors going around that the USD is poised for a crash episode in the Fall. The stories are basically anecdotal. One suggests that US embassies have been told to gather a year's local currency in their host country. That is one example.

That story has also been denied by others in the US embassy organization, again, not officially, but anecdotally to me. We view these particular stories as more or less just rumors.

and apparently, there is also a youtube video about it, though I can't browse the youtube site from work.

 

[Erna]

_http://www.thestar.co.za/?fSectionId=&fArticleId=nw20091013105156582C893875

US embassy evacuated

13 October 2009

The US embassy in Pretoria was briefly evacuated again today because of a bomb scare, according to an anonymous South African Police Services officer.

But embassy spokeswoman Sharon Hudson-Dean would not say if the evacuation had been the evacuation had been because of a threat or was a routine security drill.

"We have a series of routine and non-routine security procedures including drills and we work closely with our South African law enforcement colleagues and greatly appreciate their assistance"she said, noting that she was in her office.

And she said the embassy staff generally were back in their offices at that time, about 9.30am.

A police helicopter was seen circling over the embassy during the evacuation and heavily-armed security personnel were seen emerging from the building.

On September 22 and 23 the embassy and all other US government facilities in South Africa were completely shut down because of a terrorist threat.

The embassy also declined to elaborate then though intelligence sources said either US or South African intelligence sources - or both - had intercepted a call from Somali extremists in Cape Town to the al-Shabaab extreme militant movement in Somalia, threatening to attack US facilities in SA in revenge for the US killing of an Al-Shabaab leader just before that.

The South Africa Ministry of Intelligence refused to confirm or deny this information.