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Uganda bombings kill 64, Islamists suspected
Source: Agencies |
July 12, 2010, Monday
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SUSPECTED Somali Islamists carried out two bomb attacks that killed at least 64 people in the Ugandan capital as they watched the World Cup final at a restaurant and a sports club, authorities said today.
Suspicion fell on the al Shabaab rebel group, which claims links with al Qaeda, after the severed head of a Somali suspected suicide bomber was found at one of the blast sites.
The explosions ripped through two bars packed with soccer fans watching the final moments of World Cup final in an Ethiopian-themed restaurant and at a gathering in a Kampala rugby club on Sunday.
Al Qaeda-inspired al Shabaab militants in Somalia have threatened to attack Uganda for sending peacekeeping troops to the anarchic country to prop up the Western-backed government.
"At one of the scenes, investigators identified a severed head of a Somali national, which we suspect could have been a suicide bomber," said army spokesman Felix Kulaije.
"We suspect it's al Shabaab because they've been promising this for long," he said on Monday.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the bombings.
An al Shabaab commander in Mogadishu praised the attacks but admitted he did not know whether his group was responsible.
"Uganda is a major infidel country supporting the so-called government of Somalia," said Sheikh Yusuf Isse, an al Shabaab commander in Somalia's capital Mogadishu.
"We know Uganda is against Islam and so we are very happy at what has happened in Kampala. That is the best news we ever heard," he said.
One American was among those killed and US President Barack Obama, condemning what he called deplorable and cowardly attacks, said Washington was ready to help Uganda in hunting down those responsible.
One bombing targeted the Ethiopian Village restaurant in the Kabalagala district, a popular night-spot which was heaving with soccer fans and is popular with foreign visitors. The second attack struck a rugby club showing the match.
Twin coordinated attacks have been a hallmark of al Qaeda and groups linked to Osama bin Laden's militant network.
"Sixty-four are confirmed dead. Fifteen people at the Ethiopian Village and 49 at Lugogo Rugby Club. Seventy-one people are injured," said police spokeswoman Judith Nabakooba.
She said 10 of the dead were either Ethiopian or Eritrean. Earlier, the US embassy in Kampala said one American was killed in the bomb blasts.
"This is a cowardly act by al Shabaab terrorists," Bereket Simon, the Ethiopian government's head of information, told Reuters.
Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia in 2006 to oust an Islamist movement from Mogadishu. That sparked the Islamist insurgency which still rages.
Revelling one minute in the closing moments of the final between Spain and Netherlands, the bombings left shocked survivors standing among corpses and scattered chairs.
"We were watching soccer here and then when there were three minutes to the end of the match an explosion came ... and it was so loud," witness Juma Seiko said at the rugby club.
Heavily armed police cordoned off both blast sites and searched the areas with sniffer dogs while dazed survivors helped pull the wounded from the wreckage.
"EVIL-MINDED CHARACTERS"
Uganda, east Africa's third largest economy, is attracting billions of dollars of foreign investment, especially in its oil sector and government debt markets, after two decades of relative stability.
But investors in Uganda and neighbouring Kenya, which shares a largely porous border with Somalia, often cite the threat from Islamic militants as a serious concern.
"We have evil-minded characters who have been warning us, like the ADF (Allied Democratic Forces), al Shabaab and the Lord's Resistance Army," Kayihura said.
The Lord's Resistance Army waged a two-decade war in northern Uganda before crossing into Sudan and further afield into central Africa. In May, Uganda said ADF rebels could be regrouping along the western border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In Washington, US National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said Obama was "deeply saddened by the loss of life resulting from these deplorable and cowardly attacks".
"The United States is ready to provide any assistance requested by the Ugandan government," said Hammer.
A senior US administration official said: "We are in contact with our embassy in Kampala and in touch with the FBI regarding government of Uganda requests for assistance."
On Saturday, Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed told Reuters he was worried by the growing number of foreign jihadists joining the ranks of Islamic insurgents and said they posed a growing threat to regional security.
Regional allies are preparing to send an extra 2,000 peacekeepers to Somalia, bringing the total number of African Union troops to around 8,100. Al Shabaab responded by urging Muslims to join a jihad and pledged to attack before being attacked.
Suspicion fell on the al Shabaab rebel group, which claims links with al Qaeda, after the severed head of a Somali suspected suicide bomber was found at one of the blast sites.
The explosions ripped through two bars packed with soccer fans watching the final moments of World Cup final in an Ethiopian-themed restaurant and at a gathering in a Kampala rugby club on Sunday.
Al Qaeda-inspired al Shabaab militants in Somalia have threatened to attack Uganda for sending peacekeeping troops to the anarchic country to prop up the Western-backed government.
"At one of the scenes, investigators identified a severed head of a Somali national, which we suspect could have been a suicide bomber," said army spokesman Felix Kulaije.
"We suspect it's al Shabaab because they've been promising this for long," he said on Monday.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the bombings.
An al Shabaab commander in Mogadishu praised the attacks but admitted he did not know whether his group was responsible.
"Uganda is a major infidel country supporting the so-called government of Somalia," said Sheikh Yusuf Isse, an al Shabaab commander in Somalia's capital Mogadishu.
"We know Uganda is against Islam and so we are very happy at what has happened in Kampala. That is the best news we ever heard," he said.
One American was among those killed and US President Barack Obama, condemning what he called deplorable and cowardly attacks, said Washington was ready to help Uganda in hunting down those responsible.
One bombing targeted the Ethiopian Village restaurant in the Kabalagala district, a popular night-spot which was heaving with soccer fans and is popular with foreign visitors. The second attack struck a rugby club showing the match.
Twin coordinated attacks have been a hallmark of al Qaeda and groups linked to Osama bin Laden's militant network.
"Sixty-four are confirmed dead. Fifteen people at the Ethiopian Village and 49 at Lugogo Rugby Club. Seventy-one people are injured," said police spokeswoman Judith Nabakooba.
She said 10 of the dead were either Ethiopian or Eritrean. Earlier, the US embassy in Kampala said one American was killed in the bomb blasts.
"This is a cowardly act by al Shabaab terrorists," Bereket Simon, the Ethiopian government's head of information, told Reuters.
Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia in 2006 to oust an Islamist movement from Mogadishu. That sparked the Islamist insurgency which still rages.
Revelling one minute in the closing moments of the final between Spain and Netherlands, the bombings left shocked survivors standing among corpses and scattered chairs.
"We were watching soccer here and then when there were three minutes to the end of the match an explosion came ... and it was so loud," witness Juma Seiko said at the rugby club.
Heavily armed police cordoned off both blast sites and searched the areas with sniffer dogs while dazed survivors helped pull the wounded from the wreckage.
"EVIL-MINDED CHARACTERS"
Uganda, east Africa's third largest economy, is attracting billions of dollars of foreign investment, especially in its oil sector and government debt markets, after two decades of relative stability.
But investors in Uganda and neighbouring Kenya, which shares a largely porous border with Somalia, often cite the threat from Islamic militants as a serious concern.
"We have evil-minded characters who have been warning us, like the ADF (Allied Democratic Forces), al Shabaab and the Lord's Resistance Army," Kayihura said.
The Lord's Resistance Army waged a two-decade war in northern Uganda before crossing into Sudan and further afield into central Africa. In May, Uganda said ADF rebels could be regrouping along the western border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In Washington, US National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said Obama was "deeply saddened by the loss of life resulting from these deplorable and cowardly attacks".
"The United States is ready to provide any assistance requested by the Ugandan government," said Hammer.
A senior US administration official said: "We are in contact with our embassy in Kampala and in touch with the FBI regarding government of Uganda requests for assistance."
On Saturday, Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed told Reuters he was worried by the growing number of foreign jihadists joining the ranks of Islamic insurgents and said they posed a growing threat to regional security.
Regional allies are preparing to send an extra 2,000 peacekeepers to Somalia, bringing the total number of African Union troops to around 8,100. Al Shabaab responded by urging Muslims to join a jihad and pledged to attack before being attacked.
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