Police in South Africa say that the bomb which ripped through an American-style restaurant in Cape Town in August, killing two people, has been linked to fourteen other bombs in the region in recent months.

At the time, there wasspeculation that the bomb may have been planted by a foreign anti-American organisation.

But the police say that the bomb was similar to others used against clergy, business leaders and police stations recently.

The police released a letter delivered to a local radio station just hours before the blast in which a group calling itself The Patriots claimed responsibility.

The police say nothing is known about such a group, or its motives.