Ugandan Police Kill 5 Terrorist Suspects, Arrest 21 In Operations After Kampala Blasts

The Ugandan police said that they have eliminated four suspected terrorists and a militant coordinator, and arrested 21 people in a series of operations conducted after deadly explosions rocked the Ugandan capital of Kampala

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th November, 2021) The Ugandan police said that they have eliminated four suspected terrorists and a militant coordinator, and arrested 21 people in a series of operations conducted after deadly explosions rocked the Ugandan capital of Kampala.

On Tuesday morning, three suicide bombers detonated explosive devices near the central police station and parliament building within minutes of each other. At least four people were killed and 33 others injured in the attacks. The Islamic State (IS, a terrorist organization, banned in Russia) claimed responsibility for the explosions, while the Ugandan authorities said they suspect the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an IS affiliate, to be behind the attacks.

"A total of 21 suspects including operatives and coordinators, from the ADF cells that had been established in Mpererwe, Lweza, Luweero, Ntoroko and Bundibugyo.

The cells were secretly involved in violent terrorist activities using IEDs and other weapons. Their arrests were based on information given by their accomplices and co-conspirators, who gave good accounts on how they planned, prepared and executed their acts of terror," the police said in a statement issued late on Thursday.

The police also managed to eliminate a group of four terrorist suspects involved in the recruitment and logistical coordination network, linked to Muhammad Luminsa, a highly ranking ADF commander. Separately, another ADF suspect who recruited other people was killed while trying to escape during the arrest.

ADF, founded in 1995, operates in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. It promotes radical islam and is labeled a terrorist organization by Uganda. The United Nations has blamed hundreds of civilian casualties on the ADF since 2014.