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 US embassy evacuated
    October 13 2009 at 10:53AM Get IOL on your
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By Peter Fabricius
Foreign Editor

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.
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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.
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muti
Showing page 1 of 2 comment pages, 20 total comments
17 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
The greatest threat to security is the press. Always in the hunt for a story you may be doing more damage than good... US - "No comment", SAPS "what do you want to know" SA Press, "here is all our information", do you see the trend?
17 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
The US team are going to be rather nervous during the world cup, after all our govt has close allies with the palastinian liberation group and other international crime orginisations. The question is - would the yallow it to happen on SA soil?
17 Weeks ago Adriana Stuijt wrote :
Meanwhile the South African security establishment is focussing on the totally non-existent threat of the non-existent Boeremag and a bunch of apartheid-era dinosaurs running around with their rusty Mausers. It's really like a comedy movie. And it won't just be USA embassies which will be bombed folks, all Western embassies who support the USA will be targetted.
17 Weeks ago Psyagra wrote :
Bwahaha ... How funny and ignorant those are who talk about us needing the "Yanks" and "Yankees", that they are the super power and that we should be so grateful to them ... little realizing that the term "Yank" or "Yankee" is actually considered to be derogatory and that them is fightin' words pardner ... tsk tsk tsk ... makes one wonder - if they are the "Yankees", then who are the Yankers ;)
17 Weeks ago Jon-jon wrote :
To Tracy, Nickleback is Canadian!!!!
17 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
Do you think they would limit their bombing efforts to US installations only? Think again! Any Western embassy which has troops in the field together with the USA is at risk. I guess people just can't think that far....
17 Weeks ago Peter wrote :
@ Paul - OK grandpa. We hear you. Did you take your medicine yet. This is not Zimbabwe, it is Souh Africa. We don't need the yanks. In fact they need us more. They might give few handouts to Africa, but they get it back ten fold with the expensive sh!t they sell to our people (eg. Nike, Computer software, Hollywood movies, I-pods, etc).
17 Weeks ago Psyagra wrote :
A routine security drill?! ... So quick after the last closing down of the US embassies in South Africa?! Is the plot thickening and are we moving towards a US military presence in South Africa? Perhaps the US will offer 'help' in the form of security forces in South Africa for the 2010 soccer world cup ... and then forget to leave afterwards? Are we going to become another Zimbabwe? ... Maybe - but methinks another Afghanistan is heading our way! By now we all know that more innocent civilians than militants get killed in US operations ... Run for the hills people!!
17 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
Nothing like terrorist in SA.US threaten themselves.Let them open the embassy and carry on with their day to day tasks
17 Weeks ago NewYard or NY17 wrote :
Funny that.... funny haha that is

One man, One Shack, One phone call

and the largest military mite crumbles....

RICA say WHAT? Where did that phone call come from.... a shack.... which one ....?

Address NY????

One man... One shack....