Cops probe link with V&A bomb
Gasant Abarder, Motshidisi Mokwena and Judith Soal

A powerful pipebomb ripped through St Elmo's pizzeria in Camps Bay, injuring at least 48 people at the height of the sweltering afternoon on Sunday, when holidaymakers and sun-seekers had flocked to the beachfront.

While Cape Town Mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo appealed for calm, Safety and Security Minister Steve Tshwete promised that "no stone would be left unturned".

It is understood from several people at the scene - including policemen and paramedics - that the pipe-bomb had been attached to a cellphone. It is the first time a cellphone has been used as a detonation device in the Western Cape.

The attack follows the bombing at Blah-Bar in Green Point earlier this month.

The pipebomb exploded at about 3.45pm inside the restaurant on Victoria Road and directly opposite Camps Bay beach. In the ensuing chaos, waiters and beachgoers ran to try to assist the injured.

Three of the injured are in a critical condition. One woman has major injuries to both legs.

Police said the bomb had been placed in a plastic bag under a table in the restaurant.

A St Elmo's staff member saw the bag and hurried to tell a manager. He was on his way to the office when the bomb exploded.

The target has mystified members of the security establishment. They said they had not picked up information that St Elmo's was on any list or in any way connected to the spate of bombs since 1997.

At the scene minutes after the blast, MEC for Community Safety Mark Wiley said the explosion "might have had something to do with the conviction of Dawood Osman", a Pagad member who was found guilty on Friday of killing four people outside the V & A Waterfront last year.

On Sunday night Pagad, claiming that Wiley had insinuated it was behind the blast, demanded an apology from him.

No one has claimed responsibility for the explosion.

The bomb comes at a time when 6 000 religious leaders from around the globe are gathering in the city for the Parliament of World Religions.

According to security sources, a white BMW with four occupants was seen speeding away from the scene as the bomb went off.

Tshwete, outgoing national police commissioner George Fivaz, his successor Jackie Selebi and top detectives based in Pretoria are to visit the scene and the injured in hospitals on Monday.

Minutes after the bombing, police, fire and rescue and ambulance vehicles cordoned off a large section of Victoria Road.

Helicopters, some patrolling and others ferrying the injured to hospital, hovered overhead.

Operation Good Hope spokesperson Neville Malila said investigators would be looking at the possibility of a link between Sunday's blast and the bombings of Planet Hollywood, Caledon Square police station and the New Year's day bombing in the car park at the V&A Waterfront.

"We are not sure at this stage whether the bomb was similar to that used in the Planet Hollywood blast, but we are investigating all possible links and similarities with the other bomb explosions," Malila said.

He pointed out that what made the incident more difficult to investigate was that anyone could walk into a crowded restaurant and plant a bomb without detection.

"This is an outrageous and cowardly incident," Wiley said. "This is the way terrorist organisations operate. This is a tragedy and no matter how well trained the police are, they can never be prepared when terrorist attacks take place."

Mfeketo appealed to Capetonians not to take their anger out on fellow citizens.

"We must not lower ourselves to calling someone a terrorist based on their religion or appearance," she said.