President Thabo Mbeki has appealed to all South Africans to 'remain calm' following the bombings in Soweto near Johannesburg, saying he had full confidence in the ability of the country's security system and that the perpetrators will be brought to book.

The President was addressing the media to mark the state visit of the Greek President Constantinos Stephanopoulos in Cape Town, today.

A 42-year old woman was killed and her husband seriously injured when nine bombs exploded in the area around midnight last night.

The husband is being treated at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.

Police suspect a tenth bomb could have exploded outside a temple in Bronkhortspruit, though it is unclear whether or not this blast is related to the other nine blasts.

President Mbeki, although not blaming the racist right wing directly, said information gathered by security forces about a handful of people was that they intended to conduct a campaign to destabilise the country, increase a sense of uncertainty and create a climate for political change with bolder actions.

"The actions this morning were consistent with the information the security forces had gathered about the actions of certain people who had intended to introduce a terrorist campaign in the country," President Mbeki said.

He added that it was important to understand that a handful of people responsible for the bombings were a common enemy of all South Africans, black and white, and that they would certainly fail in their efforts to intimidate millions of people.

Meanwhile, President Mbeki expressed his condolences to the relatives of the deceased and wished her husband a speedy recovery -BuaNews.