Latest News

South African Twins’ Plot to Bomb Jewish Institutions Foiled

By Jordan Zaitchik
B’nai Brith Canada

A South African court has charged identical twins with terrorism for plotting to attack several Jewish targets and a U.S. diplomatic mission.

Twenty-three-year-old twins Brandon-Lee and Tony-Lee Thulsie as well as two others were arrested during a police raid in Johannesburg over the weekend. They were allegedly planning to join ISIS, as reported by BBC News.

The twins intended to bomb several Jewish institutions in Johannesburg  after being inspired by the terrorist organization’s call on its supporters to attack soft targets throughout the month of Ramadan. The ‘Hawks’, an elite police unit, conducted the raid, which resulted in the arrest of the four men and confiscation of a number of items including computers and cell phones. The Hawks believe that the men could be a part of a terror cell in the country.

On June 4, the U.S. Embassy in South Africa issued a statement to warn that U.S. citizens in the country could be attacked by terrorist groups. It was thought that places where Americans congregate “such as upscale shopping areas and malls in Johannesburg and Cape Town” could be possible targets.