Twin bomb attacks in Uganda that killed 73 people last week were carried out by suicide bombers and Pakistanis were among 20 suspects arrested, the head of police said on Sunday.
Somali al-Shabaab insurgents linked to al-Qaeda have said they carried out the attacks on a restaurant and a rugby club in the capital Kampala while fans watched the World Cup final last Sunday, but said no suicide bombers were involved.
“These attacks were carried out by suicide bombers. The evidence is overwhelming ... two heads have not been claimed, neither have they been identified. It can’t be a coincidence,” Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura told a news conference.
Al-Shabaab said it was avenging the killing of civilians by African Union peacekeepers. Ugandan forces form the backbone of the 6,100-strong contingent in Somalia.
Such coordinated attacks have been a hallmark of al-Qaeda and groups linked to Osama bin Laden’s militant network. If its claims are true, it was the first time that al-Shabaab had carried out an attack beyond the borders of Somalia.
Analysts said after the bombings that the attack was likely carried out by “foreign elements” in al-Shabaab.
“Somalis or foreigners, the effect is nonetheless the same. It is the foreign elements that for now dominate the al-Shabaab project,” Abdi Samatar, Somalia expert at the University of Minnesota, said last week after the attacks.
Last week police said they had arrested six of the more than 20 Somalis and Ugandans suspected of planning the bombings.
Kayihura said on Sunday the number of arrests had risen.
“We have arrested more than 20 people arrested, some of whom are foreigners, including Pakistanis,” he said, without elaborating.
Uganda, east Africa’s third-largest economy, is attracting billions of dollars of foreign investment, especially in its oil sector and government debt markets.
However, investors in Uganda and neighboring Kenya, which shares a porous border with Somalia, often say the threat from Islamic militants is a serious concern.
As the sun sets on another scorching Yangon day, the hot and bothered descend on the Myanmar city’s parks, the coolest place to spend an evening during yet another power blackout. A wave of exceptionally hot weather has blasted Southeast Asia this week, sending the mercury to 45°C and prompting thousands of schools to suspend in-person classes. Even before the chaos and conflict unleashed by the military’s 2021 coup, Myanmar’s creaky and outdated electricity grid struggled to keep fans whirling and air conditioners humming during the hot season. Now, infrastructure attacks and dwindling offshore gas reserves mean those who cannot afford expensive diesel
Does Argentine President Javier Milei communicate with a ghost dog whose death he refuses to accept? Forced to respond to questions about his mental health, the president’s office has lashed out at “disrespectful” speculation. Twice this week, presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni was asked about Milei’s English Mastiff, Conan, said to have died seven years ago. Milei, 53, had Conan cloned, and today is believed to own four copies he refers to as “four-legged children.” Or is it five? In an interview with CNN this month, Milei referred to his five dogs, whose faces and names he had engraved on the presidential baton. Conan,
French singer Kendji Girac, who was seriously injured by a gunshot this week, wanted to “fake” his suicide to scare his partner who was threatening to leave him, prosecutors said on Thursday. The 27-year-old former winner of France’s version of The Voice was found wounded after police were called to a traveler camp in Biscarrosse on France’s southwestern coast. Girac told first responders he had accidentally shot himself while tinkering with a Colt .45 automatic pistol he had bought at a junk shop, a source said. On Thursday, regional prosecutor Olivier Janson said, citing the singer, that he wanted to “fake” his suicide
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed his pledge to replace India’s religion-based marriage and inheritance laws with a uniform civil code if he returns to office for a third term, a move that some minority groups have opposed. In an interview with the Times of India listing his agenda, Modi said his government would push for making the code a reality. “It is clear that separate laws for communities are detrimental to the health of society,” he said in the interview published yesterday. “We cannot be a nation where one community is progressing with the support of the Constitution while the other