Johannesburg – The government tried yesterday to alleviate fears of possible foreign terrorist attacks as it hosts the 2010 Fifa World Cup, saying it has the security situation well in hand.

The comments came after the national intelligence service said earlier it was working with foreign spy services to forestall any terrorist threat to the World Cup.

The National Intelligence Agency (NIA) was responding to a weekend report that claimed a group linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist network was planning to attack United States interests in South Africa.

But the ministry responsible for state security called such fears unfounded, saying various agencies were working closely together to provide security.

In a surprise move, the US government shut down all its facilities in South Africa for two days last month, quoting a security threat. The closure affected the highly secured embassy in Pretoria and consulates in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. The police at the time said they were on top of the situation.

NIA spokesman Lorna Daniels said yesterday the intelligence and security services were “working closely together to ward off any threats” to the World Cup. “And we’re doing this with our counterparts worldwide,” she said. – Sapa