Five arrested as FBI agents jet in

Kampala

American security agents dispatched by the US government are in Uganda aiding investigations into Sunday night’s terrorist attacks which killed 74 people who were watching the World Cup finals.

Yesterday, officials said the death toll had risen to 76 after two more victims died in hospital. There were conflicting accounts yesterday about the number of people arrested in connection with the bombings; with a government minister putting the number of suspects at five, while a military official said at least eight people were apprehended.

African suspects
The official, a senior member of the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence, spoke to Daily Monitor on condition of anonymity given the sensitive nature of the investigations.
But State Minister for Internal Affairs Matia Kasaija told Parliament that the government had arrested five people.

He gave no further details about their nationality or where they were being detained but the military source said that the suspects were “nationals from three African countries”, and they are being held at a location in Kampala. “None of the suspects talked in English,” said the source.

Police chief Kale Kayihura was tight-lipped about the arrests at a news conference yesterday morning. While he admitted that some arrests had been made, he gave no further details.
On Monday, detectives attached to the American Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) busied themselves gathering evidence from the bomb blast scenes at the Kyadondo Rugby grounds and Ethiopian Village restaurant in Kabalagala, a US government official told Daily Monitor yesterday.

“Yesterday (Monday), a three-person FBI team was on the ground in Kampala collecting evidence,” said Ms Joann Lockard, the public affairs officer at the US Mission in Kampala, in email correspondences with this newspaper. She also revealed that Diplomatic Security (DS) special agents “have been assisting the Ugandan police since the incident first occurred.”

The FBI investigators flew in from Nairobi, Kenya, she said and “came to assist by providing initial bomb forensics to assist the Ugandan authorities.” Ms Lockard said the FBI and DS will be assisting security agencies here with “all aspects of the bombing investigation, to include: forensics, evidence collection, and analysis.”

Investigators will want to ascertain what forms of explosives were used in the triple blasts, whether they were manufactured in Uganda or imported into the country and whether the attacks were suicide bombings.

Somali al Shabaab Islamists linked to Osama Bin Laden’s al Qaeda network said on Monday that they had carried out the attacks. Asked whether the US government is accepting the claim of responsibility from the Somali group, Ms Lockard said: “Obviously, the investigation itself is ongoing, but the preliminary information that we have certainly would confirm that link.”

Ms Lockard insisted that Ugandan law enforcement authorities “remain in the lead of this investigation,” and said an additional FBI team was on standby in the US “ready to assist if needed.” “But we will continue to do everything in our power to assist Uganda in bringing the perpetrators of these attacks to justice,” she added.