JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa may fall victim to a terrorist attack during the World Cup it is hosting in less than two weeks, according to a report in the Sunday Times, quoting an investigative group and other sources.
The recent arrest in Iraq of Abdullah Azzam al-Qahtani, an alleged al Qaeda supporter who claimed he was planning attacks on the Dutch and Danish teams, has revived debate on whether the tournament faces a threat of this kind.
Qahtani's scheme was later dismissed as posing no serious threat.
South African officials have long said their non-aligned status and a lack of any substantial local support for militant groups should insulate them from attacks during the June 11-July 11 event.
Both the government and soccer's governing body FIFA, which is cooperating with foreign security agencies and Interpol, have helped strengthen that view by stating no viable threat had been identified.
However, analysts and security experts believe such actions cannot be ruled out because of the huge attention that even a small attack would get during the tournament.