No fewer than three people have been confirmed dead and a further 33 others injured in twin suicide bombings targeting Uganda’s capital Kampala on Tuesday, police disclosed, blaming a ‘domestic terror group’ linked to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) for the attacks.
Africa Today News, New York reports that an armed group active in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the ADF has been linked to the Islamic State by US while also being blamed by a string of recent attacks in Uganda.
It was gathered that two suicide bombers on motorbikes — disguised as local ‘boda boda’ motorcycle taxi drivers — detonated a device near the entrance to parliament, killing a passerby, while a third attacker targeted a checkpoint near the central police station, leaving two people dead, police spokesman Fred Enanga said.
The explosions in Kampala’s central business district occurred within minutes of each other, shortly after 10 am, and left ‘bodies shattered and scattered’ across the sites, he said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Enanga told reporters: “The indications are that this is a domestic terror group linked to the ADF.’
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It was gathered that the police however, foiled a third attack, recovering an improvised explosive device at the home of an alleged suicide bomber who was shot and injured, and were in pursuit of other members of the group, Enanga added.
The explosion near the police station shattered windows while the one near the entrance to parliament set cars parked nearby on fire, Uganda’s Assistant Inspector General of police Edward Ochom told AFP earlier.
The attacks follow two blasts last month — a bus explosion near Kampala that wounded many people and a bombing at a roadside eatery in the capital that killed one woman.
Police said last month both those explosions were connected and were carried out by the ADF. Uganda has also blamed the group for a foiled bomb attack in August on the funeral of an army commander who led a major offensive against Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia.
Parliament cancelled its Tuesday session, asking members to avoid the area ‘as security forces are working hard to restore order’.
The vicinity was put under tight security, with heavily armed soldiers securing the area as forensics officers in white overalls inspected the blast site for clues.
The ADF, historically a Ugandan rebel group, has been accused of killing thousands of civilians in eastern DRC.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK