The United States Government has alerted US citizens in South Africa to the danger of possible terror attacks at upscale shopping areas and malls.

“The US Diplomatic Mission to South Africa informs US citizens that the US Government has received information that terrorist groups are planning to carry out near-term attacks against places where US citizens congregate in South Africa, such as upscale shopping areas and malls in Johannesburg and Cape Town,” the US embassy said in a statement on its website on Saturday.

“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.”

This is the second warning against terror attacks on South African soil in less than a year. In September last year the US government warned its citizens of possible terror attacks against US facilities and business interests in SA.

Washington said at the time that it had received “specific, credible, non-counterable” threat information, prompting the embassy in SA to issue a “security and emergency message” to its citizens and businesses in SA.

Evidence of Islamist terrorist groups using SA as a safe haven has been around for the past decade. Since 2003, there have been cases involving al-Qaeda members using South African passports, and terrorism-related arrests of its members who had spent time in the country.

In November last year, a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies warned that the whole world, including SA, was at risk of terrorist attacks.

“The Islamic State declaring its intention to attack western interests in any part of the world makes any country, including SA ... vulnerable,” Martin Ewi told News24 at the time.

There are a number of western interests in SA and in Africa as a whole.

“There could be an attack (in SA) because we harbour elements that are incompatible with these Islamic groups.”

However, the country had good policies that minimised the threat and made sure SA did not infuriate Muslims or isolate the Muslim community, Ewi said.

He said security measures would help deter an attack.

“If security measures are not effective (terrorists) can take advantage.”

Security wasn’t the only factor, however. He warned that a country could also be at risk if a neighbouring state was not secure.

•Source: BusinessDAY South Africa. Photo shows President Jacob Zuma of South Africa.