E-Paper
Al-Qaida-linked Somali group claims Uganda blasts
An Al-Qaida-linked Somali militant group claimed responsibility today for twin bombings in Uganda that killed 74 people watching the World Cup final on TV, saying the militants would carry out attacks "against our enemy" wherever they are. Police said Ethiopian, Indian and Congolese nationals were also among those killed and wounded.
An Al-Qaida-linked Somali militant group claimed responsibility today for twin bombings in Uganda that killed 74 people watching the World Cup final on TV, saying the militants would carry out attacks "against our enemy" wherever they are.
Police said Ethiopian, Indian and Congolese nationals were also among those killed and wounded.
The blasts came two days after a commander with the Somali group, Al-Shabab, called for militants to attack sites in Uganda and Burundi, two nations that contribute troops to the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.
Al-Shabab, whose ranks are swelled by militant veterans of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, has long threatened to attack outside of Somalia's borders, but the bombings late yesterday are the first time the group has done so.
"We will carry out attacks against our enemy wherever they are," said Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage, a militant spokesman in Mogadishu. "No one will deter us from performing our Islamic duty", he added.
Ugandan officials had said earlier that they suspected the Somali group was involved. One of the targets was an Ethiopian restaurant, a nation despised by the Al-Shabab militants.
The attacks on two soft targets filled with civilians raised concerns about the capabilities and motives of Al-Shabab, which the US State Department has declared a terrorist organisation.
