Islamic State claims responsibility for Uganda suicide bombings
- Three suicide bombers detonate devices in two locations in heart of capital
- The Islamic State extremist group later claimed responsibility for the attacks
Islamic State claimed responsibility for twin suicide bombings in the Ugandan capital Kampala that killed three people and left several dozen wounded.
The police earlier blamed the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed group active in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo blamed for a string of recent attacks in Uganda and which Washington has linked to Isis.
Two suicide bombers on motorbikes – disguised as local “boda boda” motorcycle taxi drivers – detonated a device near the entrance to parliament, killing a passer-by on Tuesday. A third attacker targeted a checkpoint near the central police station, killing two people, police spokesman Fred Enanga said.
The explosions in Kampala’s central business district occurred within minutes of each other, shortly after 10am, and left “bodies shattered and scattered”, he said.
Police foiled a third attack, recovering an improvised explosive device from the home of an alleged suicide bomber who was shot and wounded, Enanga added. They were in pursuit of other members of the group.
