Suspects Allegedly Targeted S. Africa

Two South Africans captured with an alleged top Al Qaeda operative were plotting attacks on tourist sites in their home country, Pakistani officials said Wednesday, though South African officials cast doubt on the idea.

The two men were captured July 25 after a 12-hour gun battle in the eastern city of Gujrat. They cursed the police and promised an unending battle against President Bush and his supporters, a senior police official said.

The men were identified as Feroz Ibrahim, believed to be in his 30s, and Zubair Ismail, in his 20s, said Gujrat Police Chief Raja Munawar Hussain.

Hussain said authorities found several maps of South African cities among the items seized in the raid, which also netted Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a Tanzanian with a $25-million bounty on his head in connection with the bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

“They had some terror plans for South Africa,” Hussain said. He had no details on the plans or the timing of an attack, but an intelligence official based in Lahore said authorities believed the men wanted to target tourist sites in Johannesburg, South Africa’s commercial center.

The reports sent shock waves through South Africa, where about 2% of the 45 million population are Muslims. The nation has been outspoken in its opposition to the Iraq war and its condemnation of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.

The Star, a Johannesburg daily, quoted police sources as saying the targets included shopping malls, a stadium, parliament, the Johannesburg stock exchange, the U.S. Embassy, government buildings and the Sheraton Hotel in Pretoria.

But government officials expressed outrage over the articles. Spokesman Joel Netshitenzhe said the reports were “aired with no credible evidence from our agencies or agencies in Pakistan.”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said South African Embassy officials in Pakistan were waiting to visit the prisoners and had not been notified of any details of the investigation.