The chairperson of the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSCI), Cornelia September, has expressed concern about claims of leaked intelligence reports allegedly prepared by or on behalf of South African intelligence agencies.

September said the JSCI would enforce its legal mandate to initiate an investigation and call all relevant people to account.

She said the JSCI was concerned about maintaining national security and it would execute its mandate with this uppermost in its mind.

According to Al Jazeera, leaked documents show there was a plot to assassinate African Union Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in Ethiopia days after she assumed the position in October 2012.

Dlamini-Zuma was a former Home Affairs Minister and prior to that served as Foreign and Health Ministers.

Al Jazeera also reported that former "Mossad spies" threatened a cyber-attack on South Africa, demanding an end to the Boycott Israel campaign.

The leaked documents also claimed that a secret security assessment by South African intelligence said foreign espionage was booming, with South Africa doing a "poor job" of protecting itself.

According to the report, over 140 foreign spies were estimated to be operating in South Africa, gaining access to government departments, ministries and "even the Presidency".

The report also states that the South African Security Agency (SSA) allegedly spied on Iran.