S African twins plotted to blow up US embassy: Police

The 23-year-old twins, Brandon-Lee and Tony-Lee Thulsie, appeared briefly in a Johannesburg magistrate court after being arrested at the weekend.

“It is alleged that they wanted to bomb the US embassy and Jewish facilities in the country,” Hangwani Mulaudzi, spokesman for South Africa’s elite police, the Hawks, told AFP.

The United States and Britain warned last month of possible imminent “terrorist” attacks by Islamic extremists in South Africa’s major cities.

The two men, who are accused of planning to join the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria, will remain in custody and return to court on July 19 to allow for further investigation.

“They had been on our radar since 2015. They tried to leave the country twice, through OR Tambo airport and through Mozambique (to join IS),” Mulaudzi said.