Jihadism has once again hit Uganda hard.

At least three people were killed and 33 injured on Tuesday, according to police, in the capital Kampala in a double suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State (IS) organization.

This is the second deadly attack in Uganda claimed by ISIS in a matter of weeks, after an October 23 bombing at a restaurant in Kampala that killed a waitress and injured several people.

An explosion near the entrance to Parliament

Ugandan police attributed Tuesday's attacks to a "local group linked to the ADF", the Allied Democratic Forces, an active rebellion in eastern neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Since April 2019, some ADF attacks have been claimed by IS, which refers to the group as its "Central African Province" (Iscap in English). In March, the United States placed the ADF on the list of “terrorist organizations” affiliated with ISIS.

Tuesday's two explosions occurred three minutes apart, shortly after 10 a.m., in Kampala's business district.

The first attack was carried out at a checkpoint near the police headquarters by a man carrying a bomb in a backpack.

The second by two men "disguised as motorcycle taxis" near the entrance to Parliament, according to police spokesman Fred Enanga.

Three suicide bombers according to IS

In a statement broadcast on its Telegram channels, ISIS confirmed that three suicide bombers carried out the two attacks, stressing that Uganda was "among the states participating in the war against ISIS in Central Africa". Fred Enanga further indicated that the counterterrorist forces had arrested a fourth man and “recovered an unexploded explosive device (…) at his home”. Wounded during his arrest, "he died later," President Yoweri Museveni said in the evening, assuring that "terrorists (...) will perish". The Head of State called on the population to "remain vigilant and to control people at the entry points of bus parking lots, hotels, churches, mosques, markets ...".

Tuesday's attacks caused panic in Kampala's business district, where “shredded” and “scattered” bodies littered the ground, according to Fred Enanga.

The mayor of the city, Salim Uhuru, for his part said he was in a bank near the police headquarters at the time of the explosion.

“It was so strong.

I ran to the police station and saw a policeman I know dead on the ground.

His body was scattered, ”he said.

According to the Ugandan Red Cross, 21 of the 33 injured were police officers.

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  • Uganda

  • Daesh

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  • Jihadism

  • Suicide bombing

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