SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Tweet Post Email

The U.S. Embassy in South Africa said extremists may be targeting American government and business interests in the country, a week after it warned that groups in the region sought to harm U.S. citizens.

The diplomatic mission in Pretoria “has received information that extremists may be targeting U.S. interests in South Africa, to possibly include U.S. government facilities and other facilities identifiable with U.S. business interests,” it said in a security message on its website on Tuesday. “There is no additional information as to timing or potential targeting.”

State Department spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday that the U.S. mission in South Africa “had information indicating a potential terrorist threat and they acted on that,” although he couldn’t be more specific. “We’re going to continue to monitor” the situation, Kirby said.

South Africa’s state security department refused to confirm or deny knowledge of the threat.

“From a state security point of view, we don’t disclose such information because it must be dealt with in terms of strict confidentiality,” department spokesman Brian Dube said by phone. “That information has to go via the internal law enforcement and diplomatic agencies.”

(Updates with comment from U.S. state department in third paragraph.)