VIDEO: At least 3 dead, 33 wounded in Uganda suicide bombings - GulfToday

VIDEO: At least 3 dead, 33 wounded in Uganda suicide bombings

People extinguish fire on cars caused by a bomb explosion near Parliament building in Kampala. AFP

Gulf Today Report

Three people died on Tuesday and dozens were injured in two suicide attacks on the Ugandan capital, Kampala.

Police accused an "internal terrorist group" linked to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) for the attacks.

An armed group active in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the ADF have been linked to the so-called Daesh by Washington and blamed for a string of recent attacks in Uganda.

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 10am.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Enanga told reporters, “The indications are that this is an internal terrorist group linked to the ADF.

Police foiled a third attack by recovering an IED from the home of a suspected suicide bomber who was shot and wounded, and they were chasing other members of the group, Enanga added.

The explosion near the police station shattered the windows while the explosion near the parliament set cars on fire parked nearby, Uganda's Assistant Inspector General of police Edward Ochom told reporters.

The Ugandan Red Cross said 21 of the 33 injured were police officers.

The attacks follow two blasts last month — a bus explosion near Kampala that wounded many people and an attack on a roadside restaurant in the capital that killed a woman.

Police said both explosions were carried out by the ADF.

Uganda also accused the group of foiling an August bombing attack on funeral of an army commander who led a major offensive against Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia.



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