Bobmb in Uganda | Tadias Magazine

AFP
By Ben Simon (AFP)
Friday, July 23, 2010

Bomb blasts that killed 76 people in Kampala this month have left the city’s bustling nightlife in tatters, with paltry crowds and dwindling drink orders curtailing business prospects. Suicide bombers detonated deadly explosives in the midst of revellers watching the World Cup final on the night of July 11 in two separate entertainment venues in the Ugandan capital. Scores of people were also left injured. “People thought it was a bomb that killed people. But it’s a bomb that killed also business,” said Paul Kato, who organises bands and DJs in several venues in the city’s Kabalagala district. Kampala is known for its lively nightlife. Kabalagala, where a suspected suicide bomber killed 15 patrons in an Ethiopian restaurant, has the highest concentration of bars and clubs. Locals and expatriates frequent Kabalagala in the south of the city, where bouncers usually observed a relaxed policy towards commercial sex workers. Read more.

20 Arrested Over Attacks in Uganda (The New York Times)
By JOSH KRON
Published: July 17, 2010

KAMPALA, Uganda — The police have arrested a second batch of suspects in connection to last Sunday’s terrorist attacks in this capital that killed 76 people, and they said suicide bombers were probably involved in the attacks.

The Shabab, an Islamist insurgency in Somalia, claimed responsibility for the three bombs that struck two popular nightspots where soccer fans had gathered to watch the final match of the World Cup.

The police said that the latest suspects included people from Uganda, Somalia and Ethiopia.
Read more.

Video: Museveni vows to hit al-Shabab (NTV Kenya)

Video: Somalis in Uganda fear backlash after Shabab bombings (Al Jazeera)

Uganda bomb probe finds ‘suicide vest’ at dance hall, four suspects arrested
Tadias Magazine
News Summary
Updated: Wednesday, July 14, 2010

New York (Tadias) — Four people have been arrested following Sunday’s twin bomb attacks in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, which killed 76 people watching the final World Cup match on TV.

“Arrests were made late yesterday after an unexploded suicide bomber’s belt was found in the Makindye area (of the capital Kampala),” announced government spokesman Fred Opolot.

According to the New York Daily News, a “‘suicide vest’ filled with ball bearings was discovered by investigators at a dance hall in Uganda’s capital and is similar to the items found at the scene of Sunday’s deadly explosions.” The catch in Kampala led to the arrests of four “foreign’ suspects,” who officials said could be from Somalia.

An al-Qaida-linked Somali militant group- which views Ethiopia as an enemy – claimed responsibility Monday for the bombs that exploded at two locations, including at a popular Ethiopian garden restaurant.

“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.”

Ugandan police officials had said on Sunday that they suspected the Somali based Al-Shabab could be behind the synchronized attacks. The group had previously issued repeated threats against Uganda and Burundi, which together have 5,000 troops presence in the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.

“We can’t rule anything out,” said Kale Kayihura, Uganda’s police inspector general, at the scene of one of the attacks. “This was obviously terrorism, from the way it was targeted at World Cup watchers in public places.”

One bomb went off at a large rugby field in a different Kampala neighborhood where hundreds of people had gathered to watch the the 2010 World Cup between Spain and the Netherlands.

If confirmed, this makes the terror group’s first attack beyond Somalia ‘s borders.

According to the Daily Monitor, which quotes Ethiopia’s ambassador to Uganda – Terfa Mengesha – six Ethiopian nationals are among the dead.

Per AP: One American was killed and at least three others were wounded. “Among the wounded was Kris Sledge, 18, who said a group of six Americans had been watching the World Cup at the Ethiopian restaurant. Sledge, of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, had been part of a church group in the country for three weeks. They were supposed to leave Uganda on Tuesday. Three Americans in his group were wounded.”

US President Barack Obama called the deadly explosions “deplorable and cowardly,” a spokesman said. “The president is deeply saddened by the loss of life resulting from these deplorable and cowardly attacks, and sends his condolences to the people of Uganda and the loved ones of those who have been killed or injured,” National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said in a statement. “The United States is ready to provide any assistance requested by the Ugandan government.”

Meanwhile, Ethiopian authorities have condemned the terrorist attack, calling on the international community to focus on worldwide anti-terror response.

Video: Uganda police impound new explosive devices (NTV Kenya)