Uganda arrests 19 Somali terror suspects as embassy alert lifted

KAMPALA, Sunday

Ugandan police said on Sinday that 19 suspected Islamist Al-Shabaab insurgents arrested in weekend raids had planned to carry out bomb attacks, as the US embassy said the immediate threat had been “countered”.

Police raids on Saturday came two weeks after Ugandan troops, fighting in Somalia, reportedly provided intelligence that helped US special forces kill the Shabaab’s chief in a devastating air strike.

“Al-Shabaab planned to carry out attacks in Kampala and other towns over the weekend, but police working with sister agencies stopped these attacks and we have recovered the explosives they were to use,” police chief Kale Kayihura told AFP.

No details have been given of possible targets.

“We are interrogating 19 to see what leads we get to help expand the investigation,” police spokesman Fred Enanga said, adding the suspects were found with “explosive materials related to acts of terror”, and their intentions “were very, very clear.”

BE VIGILANT

The US embassy on Sunday lifted warnings to its citizens to stay at home, but said people should remain vigilant.

“Based on coordination with Ugandan authorities, and taking into account the heightened security measures the government has put in place, we believe that the immediate threat of an Al-Shabaab attack has been effectively countered,” the embassy said in a statement.

“We remain vigilant to the possibility that some of the attack cell could still be at large.”

Last Monday the US embassy warned that Al-Shabaab insurgents may try to exact revenge for a US air strike that killed the militant group’s commander.

“Stay alert to the ongoing potential for terrorist attacks in Uganda,” it said.

“We also caution US citizens of the possibility of retaliatory attacks in Uganda by Al-Shabaab in response to the US and Ugandan military actions in Somalia... which killed Al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Godane.”

AMISOM
Uganda’s government said the country — a major contributor to AMISOM, the African Union force fighting Al-Shabaab in Somalia — was “happy” at the death of Godane, and had provided the US with key intelligence on his whereabouts.

During the World Cup final four years ago, Al-Shabaab insurgents killed at least 76 people after setting off explosions that ripped through two restaurants in Kampala.

The strike against Godane came days after AU troops and Somali government forces launched “Operation Indian Ocean”, a major offensive aimed at seizing key ports from the Shabaab and cutting off charcoal exports, one of their key revenue sources.

Al-Shabaab insurgents have claimed recent attacks in Kenya and Djibouti, and at home in Somalia. Al-Shabaab have also claimed responsibility for the assault on the Westgate shopping centre that killed at least 67 people in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi in September last year as well as for attacks on coastal regions.