Ugandan police have found an unexploded suicide vest and arrested six of the more than 20 Somalis and Ugandans suspected of planning twin bombings that killed 76 soccer fans on Sunday, an intelligence source said today.
Somali al Shabaab Islamists linked to al Qaeda yesterday said they had carried out the attacks on a crowded restaurant and a rugby club in the capital Uganda while fans watched the World Cup final on television.
An official from the group today said there had been no suicide bombers involved in the attack on Uganda, which has peacekeepers in Somalia.
A Ugandan military intelligence source said intelligence officials had received a tip-off last month that an attack was being planned.
"On June 17th an informer from the Kisenyi suburb of Kampala told intelligence that some Somalis were planning an attack during the World Cup," the source said.
The official said more than 20 people, Somalis and Ugandans, were involved in planning the attacks.
"So far we have arrested six people from that racket," he said.
Al Shabaab has threatened more attacks unless Uganda and Burundi withdraw their peacekeepers from the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in Somalia (AMISOM), where the militants are fighting the government and control large parts of the country.
Police said the suicide vest found late yesterday at a third site was designed so it could also be planted, rather than worn.
"Rage blessed those who carried the attack and expected a long life for them. That shows there was no suicide bomb. These were planted," a man who identified himself as Yonis, assistant to al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, said.
As well as banning alcohol, al Shabaab has banned watching soccer matches in areas under its control.
Coordinated attacks are a hallmark of al Qaeda and groups linked to Osama bin Laden's militant network.
If confirmed to be the work of al Shabaab, it would be the first time the militants have taken their push for power internationally.
Reuters