Bomb blasts in Uganda kill dozens

Monday, July 12, 2010

Two bomb explosions in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, killed at least 64 people earlier today, according to police reports.

Authorities say the explosions took place at an Ethiopian restaurant, where customers were watching the World Cup final, and a rugby club.

Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura commented that "[t]hese bombs were definitely targeting World Cup crowds. [...] This was a terrorist attack. It was a deliberate, calculated attack to inflict maximum damage."

Felix Kulaije, an army spokesperson, suggested that the Somali rebel group al-Shabaab might be behind the attacks, saying that "[w]e suspect it's al-Shabaab because they've been promising this for [a] long [time]."

An unnamed commander for al-Shabaab spoke to the Associated Press earlier today regarding the incident. Although he didn't indicate whether his group was responsible for the attacks or not, he said he was happy the bombings took place, saying: "Uganda is one of our enemies. Whatever makes them cry, makes us happy."

If the group did indeed organize the bombings, then it would be the first time they had conducted attacks outside Somalia. Somali rebels have previously threatened to attack the Ugandan capital.

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Sources

"Twin blasts in Uganda capital Kampala 'kill 23 people'" — BBC News Online, July 12, 2010
"Deadly blasts hit Ugandan capital" — Al Jazeera, July 12, 2010
"Blasts hit Word Cup watchers in Uganda, kill 64" — Yahoo, July 12, 2010

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Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.