A radical Muslim group claimed responsibility for a bomb that killed at least one woman in Cape Town's popular Planet Hollywood restaurant last night, saying it was in retaliation for US attacks in Sudan and Afghanistan. However, a spokesperson for the group later denied responsibility. The US last night condemned the bombing as "outrageous and despicable" and said it was working closely with South African authorities to investigate the blast. An administration spokeswoman said, however, that the US government was unable to confirm that the attack was linked to the cruise missile strikes, or to the man the US blames for bombing its east African embassies, Mr Osama bin Laden.
The Western Cape police commissioner, Mr Leon Wessels, said at the scene that 25 people were injured in the US franchise restaurant by the blast at around 7.20 p.m. local time. "It was an explosive device that was left in the bar part of the cafe," he said.
Police initially reported one woman killed, but said later that a second person might have died. Local radio said a second victim died of a heart attack.
A man claiming to represent Muslims Against Global Oppression telephoned a Cape Town radio station shortly after the explosion, saying the bomb was a retaliation for last week's US missile attacks on alleged terrorist targets in Sudan and Afghanistan.
The Muslim group protested against US President Bill Clinton's visit to South Africa in March.
The Safety and Security Minister, Mr Sydney Mufamadi, inspected the scene and said afterwards: "It is clear that this is the work of people to whom lives count for nothing."
Police quickly cordoned off the area in Cape Town's popular Waterfront, where exclusive shops, restaurants and pubs draw millions of visitors every year. Planet Hollywood is an international franchise owned by a consortium of film stars including Sylvester Stallone and Demi Moore.
A witness said she saw at least 20 people being carried from the restaurant, many of them covered in blood, including a woman whose legs appeared to have been blown off.
Cape Town, South Africa's foremost tourist venue, has been the scene of an escalating war between gangs who run the city's drug business and Moslem activists calling themselves People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD). PAGAD activists have set off a number of so-called pipe bombs made from ordinary plumbing pipe in their war against the city's gangs.
So far, however, the conflict has been largely confined to the Cape Flats, a working class area on the opposite side of the landmark Table Mountain from the Waterfront.
Sudan yesterday dismissed US media reports that soil taken from a bombed Khartoum factory showed traces of chemical weapons components, saying any such soil samples could prove nothing.
Meanwhile, the US has contacted Taliban officials following last week's missile strikes on Afghanistan to discuss several issues, including the fate of the Saudi fundamentalist, Mr Osama bin Laden, a State Department official confirmed yesterday.
"We have been in touch with Taliban officials since the strike," said the State Department official.