http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hzHMeIMsFmUA1bDTDUdeL_hCMbjAD9GTE1F83

KAMPALA, Uganda — Explosions tore through crowds watching the World Cup final at a rugby club and an Ethiopian restaurant, killing at least 64 people. Police feared an al-Qaida-linked Somali militant group was behind the attacks, as Uganda's president declared Monday "we shall get them wherever they are."

The blasts came two days after a commander with the Somali group, al-Shabab, called for militants to attack sites in Uganda and Burundi, two nations that contribute troops to the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.

A California-based aid group said one of its American workers was among the dead. Police said Ethiopian, Indian and Congolese nationals were also among the injured and dead, police said.

Ugandan government spokesman Fred Opolot said Monday there were indications that two suicide bombers took part in the late Sunday attacks, which left nearly 60 others wounded.

Blood and pieces of flesh littered the floor among overturned chairs at the scenes of the blasts, which went off as people watched the game between Spain and the Netherlands. The attack on the rugby club, where crowds sat outside watching a large-screen TV, left 49 dead, police said. Fifteen others were killed in the restaurant explosion.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni toured the blast sites Monday and said that the terrorists behind the bombings should fight soldiers, not "people who are just enjoying themselves."

"We shall go for them wherever they are coming from," Museveni said. "We will look for them and get them as we always do."

Ugandan army spokesman Felix Kulayigye said it was too early to speculate about any military response to the attacks.

Kampala's police chief, Kale Kaihura, said he believed Somalia's most feared militant group, al-Shabab, could be responsible for the attack. Al-Shabab is known to have links with al-Qaida, and it counts militant veterans from the Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan conflicts among its ranks. Simultaneous attacks are also one of al-Qaida's hallmarks. The U.S. State Department has designated al-Shabab a terrorist organization.

If those suspicions prove true, it would be the first time that al-Shabab has carried out attacks outside of Somalia.

Invisible Children, a San Diego, California-based aid group that helps child soldiers, identified the dead American as one of its workers, Nate Henn, who was killed on the rugby field.

"From traveling the United States without pay advocating for the freedom of abducted child soldiers in Joseph Kony's war, to raising thousands of dollars to put war-affected Ugandan students in school, Nate lived a life that demanded explanation. He sacrificed his comfort to live in the humble service of God and of a better world, and his is a life to be emulated," the group said in a statement on its website.

Kony heads the Lord's Resistance Army, which has waged one of Africa's longest and most brutal rebellions, in northern Uganda.

Several Americans from a Pennsylvania church group were wounded in the restaurant attack including Kris Sledge, 18, of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. He said from a hospital bed afterward that he was "just glad to be alive."

Uganda's government spokesman said the first blast occurred at the Ethiopian Village restaurant at 10:55 p.m. Two more blasts happened at the rugby field 20 minutes later, he said.

Officials said the attacks will not affect the African Union summit being held in Uganda from July 19-27. Many African leaders are expected to attend.

"The summit will go on. The AU and African countries have the resolve to fight terrorism with the international community," said Ramtane Lamamra, the AU's peace and security commissioner.

Al-Shabab's fighters, including two recruited from the Somali communities in the United States, have carried out multiple suicide bombings in Somalia.

Ethiopia, which fought two wars with Somalia, is a longtime enemy of al-Shabab and other Somali militants who accuse their neighbor of meddling in Somali affairs. Ethiopia had troops in Somalia between December 2006 to January 2009 to back Somalia's fragile government against the Islamic insurgency. Ethiopia later withdrew its troops under an intricate peace deal mediated by the United Nations.

In Mogadishu, Somalia, Sheik Yusuf Sheik Issa, an al-Shabab commander, told The Associated Press early Monday that he was happy with the attacks in Uganda. Issa refused to confirm or deny that al-Shabab was responsible for the bombings.

"Uganda is one of our enemies. Whatever makes them cry, makes us happy. May Allah's anger be upon those who are against us," Sheik said.

In addition to Uganda's troops in Mogadishu, Uganda also hosts Somali soldiers trained in U.S. and European-backed programs.

White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said the U.S. was prepared to provide any necessary assistance to the Ugandan government.

President Barack Obama was "deeply saddened by the loss of life resulting from these deplorable and cowardly attacks," Vietor said.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton joined Obama in offering condolences and added, "The United States stands with Uganda. We have a long-standing, close friendship with the people and government of Uganda and will work with them to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice."

The world is crazy.
How could anyone do that?

Sprintcyclist wrote on Jul 12^th, 2010 at 9:38pm:



Nah. Must be CoE, as always. Where have you been?

Radical Islam's Target? Kampala to Kyrgystan

http://blogs.news.sky.com/foreignmatters/Post:8d445976-5394-41ea-9268-df2bb67aa4...

Those who follow the pattern of the Islamist bombing campaign know that to label it 'anti Western' is to misinform. This misinformed narrative argues that because of various historical injustices perpetrated by ' The West' , radical Islam has begun to hit back, and if only 'we' stopped meddling in the affairs of Muslim countries the violence would stop.

Sunday night's bombings in Uganda give lie to that narrative . . . without that context, Islamism cannot be seen for what is; A global revolutionary movement with fascistic tendencies.

The Ugandan police chief believes the Kampala bombings to be the work of Al-Shabab, an ultra radical Islamist group based in Somalia. If the gang is responsible then the targeting of black Africans makes sense. The victims were mostly Ugandan, and the location of one attack was an Ethiopian themed bar. Uganda has troops in in Somalia as part of the African Union force trying to stabilise the country, and Ethiopian soldiers ousted Al-Shabab from Mogadishu four years ago. Both countries are majority Christian, but can hardly be described as 'Western'. . . Al-Shabab calls Uganda 'An infidel country'.

The mass murder in Kampala fits into the the mass murder on a global scale against anyone deemed to be the way of the long term aim of many of the Islamists - to establish a world wide caliphate under Sharia law.

But most victims of Islamist terror are Muslims. From Iraq, to Afghanistan, Algeria Yemen Tunisnia, Jordan, Sudan and beyond,the majority of people murdered are Muslim, killed by people who regard them as apostates deserving of death, or as justified 'collateral damage' - dying for a wider cause.

74 people butchered in Kampala is not a response to the West, it is part of a a phenomena which kills anyone who gets in the way regardless of race, nationality, colour or creed.