Responsibility for yesterday’s Uganda bomb attack has been claimed by an al-Qaeda-linked militant group, Al Shabaab. The twin bomb explosion targeted crowds of people watching the World Cup final in Uganda’s capital, Kampala on Sunday.
Seventy four people have been confirmed dead as a result of the attack, including a 25-year-old American. The bombs blasted trough a restaurant and a rugby club were people had gathered to watch the World Cup final on large screens.
“We were enjoying ourselves when a very noisy blast took place ... I fell down and became unconscious. When I regained, I realized that I was in a hospital bed with a deep wound on my head,” Andrew Oketa, one of the survivors, told AP.
A spokesperson of Al Shabaab, Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, told reporters on Monday that the Islamic group was responsible for the attack.
“We thank the mujahideens that carried out the attack. We are sending a message to Uganda and Burundi, if they do not take out their AMISOM troops from Somalia, blasts will continue and it will happen in Bujumbura too,” Rage said, according to Reuters.
U.S. President Barack Obama has condemned the attacks and expressed his grief for the victims.
“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,” said National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer in a statement, according to AFP.
Islamic militant groups, in particular, al-Shabaab control large parts of Southern Somalia and a part of the country’s capital Mogadishu. According to the U.S. State Department several al-Shabaab leaders have pledged their allegiance to al-Qaeda.
Seventy four people have been confirmed dead as a result of the attack, including a 25-year-old American. The bombs blasted trough a restaurant and a rugby club were people had gathered to watch the World Cup final on large screens.
“We were enjoying ourselves when a very noisy blast took place ... I fell down and became unconscious. When I regained, I realized that I was in a hospital bed with a deep wound on my head,” Andrew Oketa, one of the survivors, told AP.
A spokesperson of Al Shabaab, Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, told reporters on Monday that the Islamic group was responsible for the attack.
“We thank the mujahideens that carried out the attack. We are sending a message to Uganda and Burundi, if they do not take out their AMISOM troops from Somalia, blasts will continue and it will happen in Bujumbura too,” Rage said, according to Reuters.
U.S. President Barack Obama has condemned the attacks and expressed his grief for the victims.
“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,” said National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer in a statement, according to AFP.
Islamic militant groups, in particular, al-Shabaab control large parts of Southern Somalia and a part of the country’s capital Mogadishu. According to the U.S. State Department several al-Shabaab leaders have pledged their allegiance to al-Qaeda.
