New al-Qaida threat: Somali group claims blasts

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Office of the Spokesman

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July 12, 2010

STATEMENT BY SECRETARY CLINTON

Bombings in Uganda

I join President Obama in strongly condemning today’s attacks in Kampala, Uganda targeting innocent spectators watching the World Cup final.

We understand that American citizens may have been injured or killed and our embassy is reaching out to assist.  Our condolences go out to the families and friends of the victims, in the United States and Uganda.

At this tragic moment, 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.

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(CNN) — The death toll from a pair of bombings that struck a restaurant and a rugby ground in Uganda’s capital is around 60, a police spokeswoman told CNN on Monday.

Seventy-one more people were injured, said police spokeswoman Judith Nabakooba.
The blasts occurred Sunday night as patrons gathered to watch the World Cup final game between Spain and the Netherlands.

One explosion took place at an Ethiopian restaurant in Kampala; the other at a rugby field.
Americans may be among the dead or wounded, the U.S. State Department said.

The State Department did not elaborate nor did it definitively say whether any Americans died in the blast.
What is known for certain is that some of the wounded included six members of an American church mission working with a local congregation.

The Rev. Kathleen Kind, pastor of Christ Community United Methodist Church in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, confirmed those injuries Sunday.

“All of our members are accounted for and all of the families have been contacted,” Kind told CNN. She added that injuries ranged from broken bones and flesh wounds to temporary blindness and “hearing issues.”

She said congregants are now “praying here in the church and in their homes for our members.”

The bombs went off within 25 minutes of each other shortly after 10 p.m.(3 p.m. ET), as fans gathered in both locations. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for what Nabakooba called “definite acts of terrorism.”

Islamic militants battling Somalia’s U.N.-backed transitional government have threatened attacks on Uganda and Burundi, which contribute troops to an African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia. But Nabakooba said the investigation is not yet focused on any specific group.

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