Two suspected rebels, including a female suicide bomber, were killed in an explosion near a Roman Catholic shrine in Kampala on Tuesday morning, Ugandan authorities said.
The blast occurred near the Munyonyo Martyrs’ Shrine in the southern part of the city as Ugandans gathered to mark Martyrs’ Day, which honours Christians executed for their faith in the 19th century. No other casualties were reported.
Reported by Reuters, the Ugandan army spokesman Chris Magezi said that the attackers were believed to be linked to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Congo-based rebel group with ties to Islamic State (IS).
The ADF has claimed responsibility for several bombings in Uganda in 2021.
Magezi said a counter-terrorism unit intercepted and neutralised the two armed suspects in Munyonyo, an affluent suburb. One was a female suicide bomber carrying powerful explosives.
Ugandan police chief Abas Byakagaba confirmed the explosion involved two individuals on a motorcycle but said no bystanders were injured.
The ADF, founded in the 1990s by Ugandan Muslims, initially operated within Uganda before relocating to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where the United Nations has blamed the group for thousands of civilian deaths.
Police had not immediately commented further, and no group claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s blast.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ