Terror warning follows US Treasury’s move to sanction ISIS financial facilitators in SA
The US Government’s warning that it had received information that terrorists could be planning an attack targeting the Sandton district of Johannesburg, follows a decision in March by the US Treasury to sanction four ISIS and ISIS-Mozambique financial facilitators in the country.
The US Embassy statement in Pretoria says they have no additional information regarding the timing, method or target of the potential attack on October 29th, this coming Saturday.
The US Government in March designated the four alleged financial facilitators in South Africa under a 2001 Executive Order that seeks to impede terrorist funding.
It listed Farhad Hoomer, Siraaj Miller, Abdella Hussein Abadigga and Peter Charles Mbanga adding that ISIS members and associates in South Africa were playing a role in facilitating the transfer of funds from the top of the ISIS hierarchy to branches across Africa.
The listings were done in line with an Executive Order that enables the US Government to disrupt the financial support networks of terrorists and their organisations including blocking the assets of individuals and entities in relation to their illegal activities.
The latest South Africa alert comes after a similar dispatch was issued in Nigeria warning of a possible terrorist attack in Abuja.
Vedant Patel is the State Department’s Principal Deputy spokesperson: “The Department overall continues to adjust and make assessments on its posture at our various embassies and consulates throughout the world in line with local security, the environment and other factors such as public health. In the case of Nigeria yesterday. The department did approve the authorized departure, which is the technical term and the situation for family members and non-emergency US government officials in Abuja. We made this decision for voluntary departure out of an abundance of caution related to an elevated risk of terror attacks, specifically in Abuja. But it is still at the authorized departure level.”
The United States says it is working with its African partners, including South Africa, to dismantle ISIS financial support networks on the continent.
US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield says: “In the African context, the presence of Al Qaeda and ISIS-linked individuals and groups warrants close monitoring and action. These groups threaten Somalia, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, the Sahel and Sinai regions and through ISIS financial facilitation networks in countries including South Africa. Money continues to be the lifeblood of terrorists. We must bolster our efforts to go after financiers and financial facilitators of terrorists and terrorist organizations and we must stymie vital resource streams that take advantage of weak regulatory oversight.”
ISIS and ISIS-Mozambique are said to be distinct and separately designated Foreign Terrorist Organisations under the US Immigration and Nationality Act and under the term ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorists’.
The State Department added that ISIS branches in Africa rely on local fundraising schemes such as theft, extortion of local populations, kidnapping for ransom as well as financial support from the ISIS hierarchy.
Source: Sabcnews
