By Faith Nyasuguta
Following the deadly suicide bombings in Uganda last week, Ugandan police say they have arrested four Somalis for carrying alleged explosive devices into a resort set to host President Yoweri Museveni this week.
According to police mouthpiece Fred Enanga, a detonator was discovered as a routine vehicle search was conducted at the nearby resort of Speke Munyonyo.
“The joint-anti terrorism security team has in custody four Somalia nationals,” he said..
“We now have the duty to trace… the main component of the suspected explosive device,” he said.
For many years, the popular hotel has welcomed heads of state and is due to host a ministerial meeting spearheaded by the president on Thursday.
In recent weeks police have tightened security after Uganda reported suffering a series of deadly attacks, among them last week’s suicide bombings in Kampala which were claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.
Reports revealed that the two bombs exploded within minutes of each other, with the suicide bombers on motorbikes disguised as motorcycle taxi drivers detonating a device near parliament.
At the same time, a third attacker was aiming at a checkpoint near the central police station.
In October, police arrested several suspected allied Democratic Forces (ADF) operatives and further cautioned that extremists were believed to be working on a new attack on “major installations.”
The arrests came after a bus exploded near Kampala, injuring many people and also an explosion at a roadside eatery in the capital that killed one woman.
Historically known as a Ugandan rebel group, the ADF, has been blamed for thousands of civilian deaths in eastern DR Congo.
Back in 2019, the IS started to claim some ADF attacks on social media, bringing forth the group as its regional branch — the Islamic State Central Africa Province, or ISCAP.
In March 2021,the United States officially linked the ADF to IS.
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