FBI experts begin probe into Uganda bombings

Ugandan flags fly at half staff to mark seven days of mourning, following a deadly attack on football fans, outside the Ugandan parliament in Kampala, on Tuesday. Photo: AP.

Experts from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were in Uganda on Wednesday to assist authorities in the investigation into the terrorist bombings at the weekend that killed 76 people.

The three—member FBI team arrived from Nairobi the previous night to help local police in gathering evidence and analysis of the explosives used, the Daily Monitor reported on Wednesday, citing a spokeswoman from the U.S. embassy.

Dozens were injured in the explosion at a sports club and an Ethiopian restaurant in the capital Kampala late Sunday. The dead and injured were mostly football fans who had gathered to watch the World Cup final.

Somalia’s radical Islamist Al—Shabaab movement claimed responsibility for the attack the next day. The group threatened further attacks on Uganda and Burundi if they did not withdraw their combined force of 5,000 African Union (AU) peacekeepers from Somalia.

The Daily Monitor quoted intelligence sources as saying that five suspects from three other African countries have since been arrested.

None of them speak English, the official language in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. A police spokesman said on Tuesday that leads from within the Somali community in Kampala had led to the arrests.