ISIS Claims Responsibility for Deadly Bomb Attack in Uganda

Lorenz Duchamps
By Lorenz Duchamps
October 25, 2021Africa
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ISIS Claims Responsibility for Deadly Bomb Attack in Uganda
Ugandan police members secure the scene of an explosion in Komamboga, a suburb on the northern outskirts of Kampala, Uganda, on Oct. 24, 2021. (Abubaker Lubows/Reuters)

The ISIS terrorist group has claimed responsibility for a deadly bomb attack at an eatery in the capital of Uganda on Oct. 23 that killed at least one person, the group said.

In a statement posted in an affiliated Telegram channel on Oct. 24, ISIS said some of its members detonated an explosive device in a bar where “members and spies of the Crusader Ugandan government were gathering” in Kampala, the country’s capital.

The blast killed a 20-year-old waitress and wounded three others, two of whom are in critical condition, police said.

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni said that three ISIS terrorists disguised as customers entered the eatery and left a package that exploded, adding that the incident “seems to be a terrorist act” and promised to hunt down those responsible.

“We regret the death of the young lady and the 3 that were injured,” Museveni said in a statement on Twitter. “Earlier on, I had been told of five injured, but now, I am told, they are three.”

Police confirmed that the explosive device that was used in the terrorist attack was packed with nails and exploded at about 9 p.m. at the restaurant named, Digida Pork Point, located on the outskirts of the Uganda capital.

“I condemn the action of the ‘parasite pigs’ that planted a bomb at Digida Pork Point where they sell pork, sodas & alcohol,” Museveni said. “Although these people were breaking curfew hours & using the place as a bar, still the criminality of the perpetrators must be condemned.”

Uganda remains under a nationwide COVID-19-related night-time curfew from 7:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. local time.

In 2010, the Somali ISIS terrorist group al Shabaab killed dozens of people in Kampala in a bomb attack, saying it was punishing Uganda for deploying troops in Somalia.

On Oct. 15, ISIS also claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide bomb attack at a Shiite mosque in southern Afghanistan that killed 47 people and injured dozens more.

The deadly mass-casualty bomb attack was the second incident targeting worshippers in the country in just one week.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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