The deadliest attack occurred at a rugby club in Kampala on Sunday night as people watched the game between Spain and Holland on a large-screen TV outdoors.
The second blast took place at an Ethiopian restaurant.
Kampala's police chief said he believed Somalia's most feared militant group, al-Shabab, could be responsible for the attack. Al-Shabab is known to have links with al Qaida, and counts militant veterans from the Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan conflicts among its ranks.
Body parts found at the rugby club suggested a suicide bomber may have been to blame, a reporter at the scene said.
Among the victims of the attack, one American was killed and several were wounded. At least three Americans - part of a church group from Pennsylvania - were injured at the restaurant. One was Kris Sledge, 18, of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania.
"I remember blacking out, hearing people screaming and running," Mr Sledge said from the hospital, where his right leg was bandaged and he had burns on his face. "I love the place here but I'm wondering why this happened and who did this. At this point we're just glad to be alive."
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton "strongly condemned" the explosions and vowed the United States will work with the Ugandan government "to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice."
Police chief Kale Kaihura originally said at least 30 people had been killed, though the toll could be higher. Later, a senior police officer at the scene said that 64 people had been killed - 49 from the rugby club and 15 at the Ethiopian restaurant.
Mr Kaihura said he suspected al-Shabab, that country's most hardline militant group. Its fighters, including two recruited from the Somali communities in the US, have carried out multiple suicide bombings in Somalia. If so it would be the first time the group has carried out attacks outside of Somalia.
Darasa 45: Maisha yetu kama zoezi la matofali
-
Darasa linakukumbusha kuwa...… Watu watatu ni mimi na wewe. Watu kumi ni
mimi na wewekwa sababu kuna watu tumesimama nyuma yao. Lakini pia, ni watu
wetu ...
1 year ago
No comments:
Post a Comment