US warns of terrorist attacks in South Africa
A new State Department advisory warns US citizens in South Africa that terrorist attacks are imminent. The US government has reportedly received information suggesting that terrorist groups are planning to conduct “near-term attacks against places where U.S. citizens congregate in South Africa, such as upscale shopping areas and malls in Johannesburg and Cape Town”. The warning also refers to recent threats made by ISIS in which it called for terrorist attacks during the month of Ramadan, which begins on 6 June. 

Tom Vanden Brook

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – The State Department on Saturday warned American citizens in South Africa of the imminent threat of terrorist attacks.

The warning, issued by the U.S. Diplomatic Mission to South Africa, states that the government has received information that terrorist groups are planning to carry out "near-term attacks against places where U.S. citizens congregate in South Africa, such as upscale shopping areas and malls in Johannesburg and Cape Town."

The warning refers to the public call by the Islamic State, or ISIL, to conduct terrorist strikes during the coming month of Ramadan.

The State Department has issued similar warnings to U.S. citizens living or traveling in Europe, saying credible information exists about ISIL militants planning attacks there.

On Friday, the Pentagon announced that it had conducted several strikes – some of them kept secret until now – against Islamic extremists outside of Iraq and Syria as the military widens its attacks on militants. In 2016 alone, U.S. attacks in Yemen have killed more than 100 militants, according to U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East.

The most recent airstrike against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula occurred on May 19 in central Yemen and killed four al-Qaeda operatives. It was the ninth attack in Yemen this year, including several the military had announced since March. Central Command also confirmed three previously unannounced attacks in Yemen. Strikes on Feb. 3, Feb. 29 and March 30 killed 11 al-Qaeda fighters

The military didn't disclose those attacks immediately in order to confuse militants and act swiftly on intelligence gathered at the sites, Air Force Col. Patrick Ryder, a Central Command spokesman, told reporters on Friday.

“Sometimes the chatter that comes after a strike allows us to collect more intelligence on adversaries to conduct future strikes,” Ryder said.

Meantime, in Iraq and Syria, the U.S.-led coalition continued to attack ISIL, hitting 25 targets, the military command in Baghdad announced Saturday. Those attacks came as Syrian troops advanced on Raqqa, the self-proclaimed capital of ISIL, and the suicide bombers struck in Iraq, killing 15 people in and around Baghdad.