22 more arrested over Kampala bomb blasts

TWENTY-two more suspects, mostly Somalis, have been arrested in Soroti over the July 11 bomb blasts which killed 76 people in Kampala city.

The arrests took place last Thursday. The suspects were whisked to Kampala for interrogation amid tight security.

Two bombs ripped through Kyadondo Rugby Club in Lugogo and another one tore through an Ethiopian restaurant in Kabalagala, a Kampala suburb.

The fourth bomb and a suicide vest were recovered from Ice Link Discotheque in Makindye, also a city suburb.

Sources said the Somalis were picked up in connection with the unexploded bomb and the cell telephone which was also seized with it. It is not clear whether the Somalis had called or received calls on the phone.

A worker at the bar said at the time the phone rang the following day, but the staff declined to pick the call.
The fresh suspects were expected to be quizzed yesterday by the Joint Anti-Terrorism Unit.

The Somali-based al-Shabaab militants claimed responsibility for the explosions, saying it was avenging the presence of Ugandan peace-keepers in the war-torn Horn of African country.

Also in custody is a Congolese said to have been dispatched to Uganda by the al-Shabaab leadership to spy on key American installations in the country. His actions drew the interest of the America’s FBI agents in the country.

Meanwhile, two pairs of feet recovered from the bomb blast scenes, suspected to belong to the suicide bombers, have not been claimed from the city mortuary.
The feet were delivered to the mortuary together with bodies of other victims, which were claimed. The feet have been preserved.

Two heads believed to belong to two suicide bombers were recovered from the scenes of the blast that left more than 50 revellers watching the World Cup soccer final injured.

One of the faces was dark, while the other bore “Somali-like characteristics”, according to the Police.

In another development, security sources said al-Shabaab militant Moktar Ali sneaked into the country prior to the attacks and toured the country, then quietly slipped out undetected.

The revelation was made by Abdi Ali, a Somali suspect in custody. Both Moktar and Abdi hail from Somalia. Moktar is said to have sneaked into the country a month before the blast and met Abdi, who travelled with him to Mbale town.

While some sources said Moktar left the country four days to the attacks, others say it was on Sunday, just before the blasts.

Sources further said the attackers were helped by two Kenyans and a Tanzanian, who are said to have sneaked the explosives into the country.

Meanwhile, the Police are receiving positive feedback on the identities of the suicide bombers since publishing their reconstructed photographs across the globe.

“We are getting information that will help us identify the suspects,” Francis Rwego, the director of Interpol, said.

Source: New Vision Online