Ugandan explosives experts secure the scene of an explosion in Komamboga, a suburb on the northern outskirts of Kampala, Uganda October 24, 2021. REUTERS/Abubaker Lubowa
October 24, 2021
(Reuters) -A bomb that killed at least one person in a pork restaurant on the outskirts of the Ugandan capital Kampala was packed with nails and shrapnel, police said on Sunday.
The explosion, which occurred on Saturday night in a suburb in the northern outskirts of Kampala, killed a 20-year-old waitress and injured three people, two of whom were in critical condition.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the police said the device had been made using local materials, adding: “All indications suggest an act of domestic terror.”
The police could not be reached to say whether they had identified any suspects.
In 2010, the Somali Islamist militant group al Shabaab killed dozens of people in Kampala in a bomb attack, saying it was punishing Uganda for deploying troops in Somalia.
President Yoweri Museveni said Saturday’s attack “seems to be a terrorist act”.
“The information I have is that 3 people came and left a package in kaveera (plastic bag) which later on exploded,” he said in a tweet.
Videos shared on social media showed frightened diners outside the Digida Pork Joint, lit up by flashing blue police lights.
(Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Writing by Ayenat Mersie; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
