Shebab militants in Somalia claim deadly Uganda bomb attacks

Somalia's Al-Qaeda-inspired Shebab rebels yesterday claimed responsibility for bombings in Kampala that killed 74 people as they watched the World Cup final, in the region's worst attacks in 12 years.

The twin attacks in the Ugandan capital dampened Africa's post World Cup euphoria, drew a barrage of global condemnation and marked an unprecedented internationalisation of Somalia's two-decade-old civil war.

"We are behind the attack because we are at war with them," Ali Mohamoud Rage, the Shebab group's top spokesman told reporters in Mogadishu.

The movement's top leader had warned in an audio message earlier this month that Uganda would face retaliation for contributing to an African Union force supporting the western-backed Somali transitional government.

Explosions ripped through a sports bar and an Ethiopian restaurant in Kampala where people had gathered to watch the football World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands.

"The latest official count is 74 confirmed dead," Fred Opolot, a Ugandan government spokesman, said.

Police Chief Kale Kayihura said one Irish woman was among the dead and added that two bodies had not been claimed by anybody and were "of interest" to the security services.

He explained that three blasts went off and that while one was a planted explosive device, the other two might have been the result of suicide explosions.

The blasts were the deadliest attacks in the region since 1998 bombings against the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

A US embassy spokesman confirmed one American was among the dead and an AFP correspondent saw at least three wounded US citizens at the city's main Mulago hospital.

Suspicion immediately fell on the Shebab, whose overall leader Mohamed Abdi Godane had warned in an audio message earlier this month that Uganda and Burundi would be targeted.

The two countries provide troops to the African Union mission in Somalia (Amisom) which is fighting daily battles against the Shebab in Mogadishu in a desperate effort to prop up the government.

The Shebab accuse Amisom of killing civilians during its operations around the tiny perimeter housing President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed's embattled administration.

"We will continue the attacks if they continue to kill our people," Rage said. "This was a defensive measure against the Ugandans who came to our country and killed our people. This was retaliation for their actions."

The Ugandans were the first to deploy to Somalia in early 2007 and form the backbone of Amisom, which is the last rampart preventing the Shebab from claiming complete control of Mogadishu.

Ugandan officials yesterday insisted that the July 19-27 African Union summit would go ahead as planned and that troops would not be withdrawn from Mogadishu.