Two Woolworths stores have been bombed this week, one in Pretoria and one in Bloemfontein, with no individuals or groups claiming responsibility as yet.

In both incidents, the damage was minor with no injuries reported.

The first incident happened at the Menlyn Mall in Pretoria in the early hours of yesterday morning, at about 1am. The device appears to have been left on a shelf. It detonated and damaged shelving and produce. Although staff were on duty nobody was injured, and the shop opened for business at about 1pm yesterday.

A second device detonated at a Woolworths in Bloemfontein, also in the early hours of this morning, at about 3am. It also did not cause widespread damage.

Experts told The Common Sense the bombs were not high-yield devices and were not designed to cause widespread property damage.

It is not clear what the motivations for the bombings are. There have been no public claims of responsibility as would be typical of terrorism – given that the purpose of terrorism is to draw widespread public attention to a political or ideological agenda. That suggests that any claims, in as far as they may have been made, have been made privately and out of public view, suggesting criminal extortion and not terrorism.